Hotwalls Studios

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Hotwalls Studios

Hotwalls Studios brings artists and makers together in an exceptional heritage location

This page is set up and run by the makers and artists in residence at the Hotwalls Studios. The website http://www.hotwallsstudios.co.uk is the official link for the studios and management. The beautifully renovated barracks have been transformed in to 13 working studios, which will allow you to watch some of the city's most creative individuals at work, and
where you'll be able to purchase professional pieces from the artists and makers themselves.

28/08/2026

Between Land and Tide by

📆 Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September
🕗 11am – 4pm
📍The Round Tower, Hotwalls Studios, PO1 2FS

‼️Live performance on Sunday 6th at 12pm‼️

Between Land and Tide is a public art project bringing sculpture, performance, and community participation to spaces across Portsmouth.
Inspired by the sea, tidal ecosystems, and Portsmouth’s coastline, the work features sea born female guardians and a monumental starfish sculpture created from natural and sustainable materials. Through movement and performance, bodies merge with the landscape, shifting between human and sea-like forms.
The work explores connection, environmental fragility, and our relationship with the ocean, inviting audiences to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the natural world.

The programme includes public performances, workshops, and exhibitions taking place across Portsmouth.

Supported by
Arts Council England (National Lottery Project Grants), Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth Creates, and partner organisations across Portsmouth.

Partners
Art Space Portsmouth · Hotwalls Studios · Fratton Together · City Arts Portsmouth · Sustainable Conservation Trust · Portsmouth Historic Quarter · Victoria Park Portsmouth

27/08/2026

the space between by The Pink Sofa Collective

📆 Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th September
🕗 Sat: 10am-5pm Sun: 10am-4pm
📍The Round Tower, Hotwalls Studios, PO1 2FS

Come along to the first ever Pink Sofa Collective exhibition featuring artist’s work in ‘the space between’, exploring the spaces between people, or places and things and transforming The Round Tower into a unique art show.

21/08/2026

🌟Resident Artists Spotlight Day🌟

Introducing , Studio 9

Ella Kilgour is a painter working mostly in oils on canvas but also on paper using graphite, ink, and charcoal. Her work has a strong emphasis on colour and is anchored by a sense of light, place, and history. She uses a lively mix of contemporary and classical painting techniques and subject matter to create a feeling of ‘Old world meets New World’.

There are two main components to her practice. The first is painting portraits to commission, which makes up the ‘bread and butter’ of her income. She paints sitters of all ages (and animals), but she receives the largest number of commissions for portraits of children. Ella loves working with children as there is usually an opportunity to be both playful and colourful in designing these paintings.

The second part of her practice involves painting artworks for sale. She sells these works through several channels: online, directly to the public, and through galleries and exhibitions. This side of her work tends to be looser and more contemporary in style. It is creatively led and is quite broad in its scope, including landscapes, seascapes, still life, historical portraits, and some dreamy surrealist paintings. Ella exhibits in galleries throughout the year and runs workshops. She also sells limited edition prints and postcards.

Ella Kilgour shares a studio with Fashion and Textile Designer Meg Naysmith.

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18/08/2026

Did you know what is now Hotwalls Studios started out as Point Battery and Barracks, which along with the Round Tower formed part of Portsmouth’s original military defences built to protect the port from attack by sea?

The Round Tower began as a wooden structure built between 1418 and 1426 on the orders of Henry V. In the 1490s the tower was rebuilt in stone. Point Battery and Barracks was first constructed in the 1680s as a line of ramparts that connected the Round Tower to the nearby Square Tower. They were reconstructed between 1847 and 1850 as a coastal artillery. The arches that now house artists’ studios had provided living accommodation for soldiers along with gun positions.

By the end of the Second World War, the Battery was decommissioned, and local artists started the tradition of selling art from the arches at weekends. In the 1960s, the site was purchased by Portsmouth City Council. In 2014 Portsmouth City Council, the Coastal Communities Fund and the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire provided funds to refurbish the buildings and turn them into working artists’ studios. Development of the site was completed in 2016.

07/08/2026

This week we're shining a spotlight on the amazing , Studio 8 💫

Libbie Coulson is a Jewellery Designer and Artist from Drayton, and her business is named in memory of her late mother, whose birthday was the 26th of May.

Following a degree in Fine Art and a career in UX design, Libbie’s creative journey evolved organically, driven by her passion for colour and the joy of making tangible objects by hand. After years spent primarily behind a screen, she found herself seeking a more hands on creative outlet.

During lockdown, Libbie discovered polymer clay as a way to stay creatively engaged and keep her hands busy during an uncertain time. What started as a hobby – making gifts for friends and family – quickly turned into a deep passion for the medium and its endless possibilities. This passion led to the creation of 26th of May.

Libbie makes heartfelt, creative jewellery that blends thoughtful design with high quality materials. Specialising in semi-precious beaded necklaces & bracelets, and elegant, yet attention grabbing polymer clay earrings, each item is crafted with care, reflecting her passion for creativity and a commitment to celebrating individuality.

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03/08/2026

A new exhibition has been installed at The Windbreaks!

Artists Camille Bach and Stephanie Morgan have been chosen to exhibit their work at the gallery space on the promenade near Speakers' Corner for the next four months

Their work explores light, water and the coastal environment through contrasting styles. Camille's expressive oil paintings capture the changing beauty of seascapes and skies, while Stephanie's abstract works focus on the patterns created where light, wind and currents meet on the water's surface. Their complementary colour palettes and differing artistic approaches made them an ideal pairing for the exhibition.

This venture is a collaboration between , Portsmouth City Council and to celebrate the work of local artists and provide a new focal point on Southsea

The Windbreaks is proudly sponsored by VolkerStevin and Boskalis Westminster.

31/07/2026

Open Studios is this Sunday!

With .collective as our guest artist in The Round Tower with their exhibition Field Notes🌸Open from Friday 31st July

Field Notes brings together Tobias Wheal, Sarah Wheal, Jiating Yang and Stacey Williams. Artwork and music have been created in response to the unfolding seasons at Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve. This exhibition includes sketches, image projection, printing, notes, music, and sculpture made in response to the time this art collective spent at the reserve.

The partnership with a vibrant nature reserve aims to engage people in the act of looking, to slow down and pay attention to details and subtle changes in landscape and wildlife as we move through the seasons. This collection of work seeks to become become the antithesis of our screen driven world, inviting us to stop, look and ‘be’ in our surroundings. The audience will be able to enjoy an immersive and participatory experience.

And don't forget, as usual, our resident artist's studios will be open for you to explore what's new! 👀

📅 Date: Sunday 2nd August
🕘 Time: 10am-3pm
📍 Location: Hotwalls Studios & The Round Tower, Broad Street, PO1 2FS

28/07/2026

Field Notes Exhibition by .collective

Looking Through Collective are also our Guest Artist for Open Studios on Sunday✨

📆 Friday 31st July - Sunday 2nd August
🕗 10am-4pm
📍The Round Tower, Hotwalls Studios Parade Ground, PO1 2FS

Field Notes brings together Tobias Wheal, Sarah Wheal, Jiating Yang and Stacey Williams. Artwork and music have been created in response to the unfolding seasons at Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve. This exhibition includes sketches, image projection, printing, notes, music, and sculpture made in response to the time this art collective spent at the reserve.

Stacey Williams is a drawing practitioner, often working in charcoal and ink or watercolour. Through drawing she explores time and its movement, through the lenses of loss, motherhood and nature. The work is often layered and durational, building up over time as a series or as one evolving drawing

Tobias Wheal is a multidisciplinary artist and musician creating collaborative, immersive experiences that make art and music accessible and inclusive. His work blends music with visual elements, such as performance art, film and drawing, to engage audiences beyond the traditional reach of classical music

Sarah Wheal is a performance artist and installation storyteller, whose practice is one of travelling theatre moving through the Sussex scenery, collecting prop materials and unexpected encounters along the way. Local landscape provides the stage sets whilst her three muses, Spontaneity, Unpredictability and Synchronicity act as prompters

Jiating Yang’s art combines illustration and multimedia, playing with colours, textures, and forms. Drawn to Animism, the belief that everything has a spirit, this inspires her to capture the energy and essence of nature’s organic shapes and beauty. Jiating’s process is rooted in experimentation and spontaneity, inviting others to see with curiosity, connection, and a sense of wonder

And don't forget, as usual, our resident artist's studios will be open for you to explore what's new!

24/07/2026

It's Resident Artist Spotlight Day and this time we're introducing , Studio 7! ✒️✨

Louise studied Media and Production Design at London College of Printing and has been painting since 1998. Over the years she has developed a very recognisable style and has painted many commissions for public buildings and private clients.

Her paintings are predominately figurative and painted in oils on board. She aims to capture the underlying essence of a crowded scene or an individual person in a stylised and naïve fashion. Her paintings have been described as “happy Lowrys”. You can see more of her work at www.louisebraithwaite.co.uk

Collectors of her work include Martin Clunes, Sue Perkins, Celebrity chef John Torode and the late Joan Rivers. She sells her work widely throughout the UK in galleries and art fairs and represents herself and other Hampshire artists through her own gallery Mae Gallery (www.maegallery.co.uk) at The Affordable Art Fairs in both Battersea Park and Hampstead.

Louise’s limited edition prints, greetings cards, wooden jigsaw puzzles and placemats are available from her studio at the Hotwalls and on her website www.madloupublishing.co.uk

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22/07/2026

'Place in a Fortress City' workshop with

Scavenger Walk & Cyanotype Printing in Old Portsmouth

📆 Sunday 26 July
🕗 11am-2pm
📍The Round Tower, Hotwalls Studios Parade Ground, PO1 2FS

We will meet at the Round Tower and begin with a guided scavenger walk through the historic landscape. Along the way, participants will gather textures, shapes, and traces of the past to create cyanotype prints and rubbings. The workshop will conclude inside the Round Tower, where we will develop and reflect on the work made during the walk.

This hands-on, family-friendly session is open to all, and no prior experience is required.

Duration: approximately 3 hours.

Street parking is available.
By public transport, bus routes N25 (Broad Street), 23, and 3 stop nearby at Cambridge Junction.

Register your interest here : https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=fDBSAE1W3E-YeVpEbPbHRvGOdXWIRBdMgGIr1eVH1ilUNjY2U0c4QzE1MUdGMVNITTNXTjZQT09DTC4u

Address

The Hotwalls Studios
Portsmouth
PO12FS

Website

https://hotwallsstudios.co.uk/

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