<p>What happens when artists can no longer afford to live and work in the cities they help shape?</p><p>In the fifth episode of The Purpose Pioneers, the new podcast series from Positive News, we meet Eline van der Vlist, CEO of SPACE, the UK’s first social enterprise dedicated to providing affordable studio space for artists.</p><p>Founded in London in 1968 by artists Bridget Riley and Peter Sedgley, SPACE was created in response to a growing need for accessible creative space. Today, it supports more than 900 artists across 21 sites in London and Colchester, offering studios where they can develop their work and sustain their practice.</p><p>In this conversation with Positive News’ Sarah LaBrecque, Eline shares her unconventional journey from law into the arts, having worked across Amsterdam, London and New York before retraining as a curator and leading projects across Europe and the Middle East. She reflects on three defining moments that shaped her sense of purpose and led her to head one of the UK’s most influential arts organisations.</p><p>Together, they explore the structural challenges facing artists in urban centres, where creative communities often drive regeneration only to be priced out of the very places they helped transform. Eline explains how SPACE intervenes in this cycle by acquiring and managing buildings to provide long-term, affordable studios in central locations.</p><p>She discusses the wider value artists bring, not only through their contribution to the economy, but in shaping the cultural identity that makes cities vibrant and globally relevant. The episode also looks at how SPACE combines property, social enterprise and cultural programming, from leasing studios at below-market rates to curating exhibitions that give emerging artists visibility and opportunity.</p><p>More broadly, the conversation explores what it takes to sustain creative ecosystems in an era of rising costs, and how purpose-driven organisations can protect the people and practices that define a city’s cultural life.</p><p>--</p><p><br></p><p>The Purpose Pioneers is a new podcast series from Positive News about the journey of turning ideals into action. </p><p>Producer: Simon Elliott, Crowdfindervideo</p><p>Host and story editor: Sarah LaBrecque</p><p>Series editor: Tom Pattinson</p><p>Production lead: Pauline Milligan</p><p>Executive producer: Sean Wood</p><p><br></p><p>The Purpose Pioneers is sponsored by Triodos Bank, a bank for people and organisations who want to create positive impact.</p>