Artists and Community Groups Make Quick Use of Learning Hub

New facility launched at Chiswick House is already busy

The Mayor of Hounslow, Ranjit Gill presided over the official opening. Picture: Hounslow Council

September 19, 2026

Chiswick House & Gardens Tursthas officially launched its new Learning Hub, a landmark addition to the historic estate that will transform how local schools, charities and community groups use the site.

The Leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, formally opened the Hub this week, marking a major milestone in the Trust’s £5.5 million project to restore and revitalise working buildings across the grounds.

The Learning Hub — a net-carbon-zero building with indoor and outdoor teaching areas — will enable the Trust to welcome more than 7,000 people each year. It forms part of a wider programme supported by the London Borough of Hounslow, which contributed more than £1 million towards the construction of both the Hub and the newly completed Artist Studios through its Thriving Communities Fund.

The Hub sits alongside the Foyle Learning Yard and the Kitchen Garden Hub, creating a cluster of new spaces designed for learning, creativity and community activity. The Learning Hub will help expand school and community programmes in the area.

The opening coincides with the arrival of five new artists to the freshly converted Artist Studios, completing the redevelopment of historic working buildings between the Conservatory and the Kitchen Garden. The Studios now house 24 artists working across ceramics, portraiture, printmaking, mixed-media painting and found-object sculpture.

The new cohort includes ceramicist and watercolourist Sophie Balhetchet, photographer and printmaker Anna Booth, mixed-media painter Margarida Fernandes, Chiswick-born landscape artist Tony Lancaster, and textile sculptor Emma Turpin, who works with second-hand materials in response to the climate crisis. Their arrival, the Trust notes, brings “a thriving creative community” into the heart of the gardens .

The Studios have been developed in partnership with the Artist Studio Company (ASC), the charity providing affordable workspace to more than 850 creatives across London. ASC has matched artists to the new workspaces and will continue collaborating with the Trust to support practitioners and bring more visitors into the gardens.

The Artists' studio at the new Learning Hub. Picture: CHGT

The new facility is already attracting local organisations expanding their programmes into the new facilities. Among the first is Move into Wellbeing® (MiW), the Chiswick charity providing mobility classes for people with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions. MiW will launch weekly sessions in the Clore Learning Space from Tuesday 22 September, offering seated and supported movement classes designed to improve mobility, balance and neurological connections. The charity describes the new indoor/outdoor space as a “scenic” and supportive environment for wellbeing activities in the historic grounds .

Move into Wellbeing® will be holding weekly sessions in the Clore Learning Space

The Hub and Yard will also host school groups, community celebrations, creative workshops and drop-in activities, forming a year-round centre for learning and participation. The Trust expects the spaces to become a focal point for local engagement, from environmental education in the Kitchen Garden to arts and crafts sessions with resident makers.

The Learning Hub, Artist Studios and associated spaces represent one of the most significant investments in Chiswick House & Gardens in recent years. Supported by Hounslow Council, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Kusuma Trust, Wolfson Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation, Foyle Foundation, The Linbury Trust, the Mayor of London, The Headley Trust, Bernard Sunley Foundation, the Architectural Heritage Fund and many individual donors, the project strengthens the estate’s role as a cultural and educational centre.

the Learning Hub & Yard can be viewed by the public on Sunday 20 September with a major free Open Day. Families and visitors will be able to explore the new spaces, take part in drop-in workshops including block printing, yoga, sashiko stitching, posy-making and sound healing, and meet the artists who work on site through the Artists’ Open Studios. Book free tickets for the Open Day here.

The Open Day also coincides with the Chiswick House Dog Show, held at the Cricket Pavilion, adding to the lively atmosphere across the grounds. Visitors will be able to enjoy free entry to Chiswick House itself — the Neo-Palladian landmark designed by William Kent and the Earl of Burlington — with its ornate interiors and historic art collection. Prior booking is advised for house entry.