Legal dispute
This project aims to raise funds to resolve a claim, or other type of dispute.
LONG LIVE THE ARTIST'S GARDEN
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
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Aim
Help protect The Artist’s Garden — the world’s first and only free public sculpture garden dedicated to women artists, now under threat.
In the heart of London stands a bold, historic project: the Artist’s Garden — the world’s first and only public sculpture garden dedicated to the work of women artists.
Today it is at risk.
Since opening in 2021, it has welcomed over 100,000 visitors every year for free, every day. A free, open space where the brilliance of women is not hidden, but celebrated at scale — a place where artists, young people and communities come together to experience what women can achieve, collectively, in public space.
But on 1 October 2026, the Artist’s Garden faces eviction. Places for London, TfL’s commercial property arm, is granting a lease to a private developer, putting this public space — protected by its own legislation passed in 1864 and reinforced in 1919 — in danger of being lost.
This is bigger than one site.
It is about whether public land remains public.
It is about culture as a force for regeneration — inclusive, and open to all.
It is about ensuring women are seen, heard and represented in the fabric of our city.
The Artist’s Garden is not a “nice to have”. It is infrastructure. It shows what happens when we invest in people, creativity and community. It supports artists, creates jobs, and opens real pathways for young people who might never otherwise see themselves in the creative industries or in a cultural space.
Once spaces like this are gone, they do not come back.
Why We Are Raising £38,000
We are launching Long Live the Artist’s Garden to protect the future of this extraordinary public space.
Alongside the petition and to ensure we can stay put - we need a fighting fund of £38,000 to:
- Obtain a High Court Declaration to force TfL/Places to accept what we believe to be their legal responsibility under the Acts of Parliament that protect the site – and retract their eviction request
- Design, produce, implement our campaign – pay for artists/filmmakers/creatives/comms to articulate our campaign through word and image
- Organise events for and mobilise our community and deliver our petition
- Research, evidence gathering and documentation
Sign today. Share widely. Support our fighting fund. Stand with us.
Because this is what the future of public space should look like.
What You Can Do
We have 138 days to act.
We need:
- 5,000 petition signatures
- widespread public support
- the resources to defend the Garden’s future in Court
Please:
- donate if you can
- sign the petition
- share this campaign widely
- post about the Artist’s Garden
- help us prove the scale of support for this vital public space
The more voices we gather, the stronger the case to protect it.
Because this is what the future of public space should look like.
Why the Artist’s Garden Matters
The Artist’s Garden transformed a neglected half-acre rooftop above Temple tube station into a thriving public cultural space in the heart of London. Since 2021, theCOLAB has commissioned ambitious, career-defining works by women artists and created a place where culture is genuinely free and accessible to all.
Only 13% of public sculptures in London are by women artists. The Artist’s Garden exists to change that.
Over the last five years we have:
- commissioned 18 major new works
- worked with 24 artists
- welcomed more than 100,000 visitors every year
- supported hundreds of young Londoners through workshops and outreach programmes
- built an internationally recognised model for regenerating public space through culture
The Garden has become a beacon for what women can achieve when they are given space, visibility and public presence at scale.
This is not simply an arts project. It is a living public space for gathering, learning, protest, celebration and imagination.
Why This Fight Matters Beyond London
Where The Artist’s Garden now stands was once part of the Thames. In 1864, Parliament passed legislation ensuring this land would remain public open space. In 1919, further legislation reinforced public access to this very terrace.
For more than 150 years, this site waited to find its purpose.
Today, it stands as the world’s first sculpture garden dedicated to women artists — a platform for women’s voices, stories and achievements to be experienced in public, every day, for free.
At a time when public space is increasingly privatised, spaces like this matter more than ever.
If The Artist’s Garden can disappear, what does that say about the future of public culture in our cities?
LONG LIVE THE ARTIST’S GARDEN
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 5th August 2026 at 2:03pm