Sarabande Foundation Opens New Tottenham Art Hub in 18th-Century Town Houses
Tottenham has gained a new arts destination with a distinctly layered identity: a foundation built to nurture emerging talent now occupies two early 18th-century town houses on High Road, where original wallpaper survives alongside fresh studio walls and a newly installed café.
The Sarabande Foundation, established by the late fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen to support young creatives, has opened its new home at 808-812 High Road in north London. The complex includes 14 artists’ studios, an education space, and a café, extending the foundation’s role beyond studio provision into public-facing cultural programming.
The building itself is part of the story. The adjoining houses date from the early 1700s, and the foundation has highlighted surviving architectural details, including centuries-old layers of wallpaper. In the café, alumni artists Jo Grogan and Castro Smith have carved designs into the York stone floor, giving the space a visible link to the foundation’s earlier generations of residents.
This year’s artist cohort includes Rizza Zahid, Tom Hallimond, Victoria Ruiz, and Jack Laver. Their presence signals the foundation’s continued focus on supporting artists at an early stage, while also embedding them in a neighborhood that has become increasingly active as a site for cultural production.
Funding for the project came from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which contributed £2.6 million. Tottenham Hotspur football club match funded that amount and also owns both buildings, a detail that underscores the unusual mix of heritage, sport, and contemporary art shaping the project.
In a statement, the foundation said it is joining “a vibrant growing community” and contributing to Tottenham’s cultural life. Tracey Emin, meanwhile, offered her own succinct endorsement on Instagram: “So good.”
For Sarabande, the move is more than a change of address. It places the foundation in a historic setting while expanding its reach in one of London’s most closely watched creative districts.
