Artist Alice Sheppard Fidler, a founding member of Studio Voltaire, has created The Hide, an artist retreat and residency in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, UK. In 2022, she launched The Hide Installation and Sculpture Showcase (THISS), an annual sculpture exhibition in her garden, which this year featured ten artists responding to themes of adaptable matter and environmental permanence. For the first time in 2024, Sheppard Fidler secured Arts Council funding for THISS, enabling artist fees and workshops with youth charities, and the event now attracts around 400 visitors from across the UK.
This initiative matters because it demonstrates how artists in rural areas are building self-sustaining creative ecosystems outside the traditional London-centric art world. Sheppard Fidler’s model—combining a home, studio, residency program, and funded exhibition—addresses the isolation many artists face after relocating from urban centers and challenges the gatekeeping of the London art scene. The project also highlights the need for local councils to nurture regional creative communities, especially in areas that appear wealthy but lack infrastructure for artists.