About this research project
This blog is part of a series supported by the Go See Share Fund, a Creative Scotland initiative that enables artists and collectives to travel, connect and share learning across borders. Through this research, I’m exploring how small, community-driven arts organisations like Flos Collective can develop financially sustainable models while staying true to values of accessibility, inclusion and care.
At Flos Collective, we’re at a pivotal point. After several years of self-funding and running pay-what-you-can events in Glasgow, we’ve begun receiving our first small grants. It’s exciting, but it also raises new questions: how can we grow without losing our ethos? How do we build something sustainable without becoming bureaucratic or exclusive?
To find out, I’ve been meeting with a range of artist-led and community-based organisations across the UK and Europe - beginning with SPILL Festival and Think Tank in Ipswich.
Understanding SPILL’s model
SPILL Festival began in 1999 as a platform for experimental performance and live art, founded by artist Robert Pacitti. In the early years, SPILL operated from London, presenting ambitious, often provocative work at major venues like the Barbican. But in 2012, the team took on the Think Tank building in Ipswich - a move that slowly shifted the organisation from being an London-wide organisation to a place-based creative hub. By 2016, SPILL had rooted itself fully in Ipswich, focusing on developing artists, supporting local creative networks, and building meaningful community relationships.
Today, SPILL operates as both a biannual performance festival and a year-round development space. Its small team of five is responsible for producing international performances, running artist residencies, managing the Think Tank building, and maintaining relationships with local councils, funders, and audiences. It’s a huge scope for a small team, and the key to making it work lies in how carefully they’ve structured their operations.
How SPILL sustains itself
SPILL is part of the Arts Council England National Portfolio (NPO), meaning it receives multi-year funding to cover core salaries and operating costs. This support provides stability, but it also creates reliance: around 74% of SPILL’s annual income comes directly from ACE. The rest is carefully pieced together -
roughly 18% from other grants and local councils,
3% from partnerships,
4% from earned income (such as ticket sales, bar income and space hire), and
a small amount from donations and investment interest.
While 74% dependency might sound risky, SPILL has found ways to offset it. By generating additional income through the Think Tank - renting meeting spaces, hosting artist studios, and running small-scale events - they’re building a more flexible and responsive model.
But what really impressed me wasn’t just their funding mix - it was their approach to planning and evaluation. Every project SPILL runs is underpinned by reflection. They evaluate audiences, track engagement and analyse how their activities meet both community needs and funder priorities. Rather than seeing this as red tape, they use it as a creative tool: evaluation becomes a way to better understand their impact, sharpen their strategy and make stronger funding cases.
Culture and community
SPILL’s work is deeply rooted in place. Since moving to Ipswich, the festival has become a vital part of the town’s cultural identity - collaborating with schools, local councils and independent artists to create opportunities that connect people to the arts in accessible, meaningful ways.
What struck me most is how SPILL approaches community-building as an artistic act. Their Think Tank space isn’t just an office; it’s a social hub. Artists drop in for residencies, rehearsals or informal chats. Workshops are designed to invite curiosity rather than gatekeeping. There’s a strong sense of mutual care - a recognition that community work and experimental art can (and should) coexist.
Key takeaways for Flos Collective
There’s so much I’ve taken from SPILL that feels relevant to where Flos is now.
Evaluation as empowerment: SPILL uses research and data as creative reflection, not just reporting. For Flos, adopting this mindset could help us better understand who we reach and what our community values most - evidence that strengthens future funding applications.
The value of space: The Think Tank isn’t just infrastructure; it’s part of SPILL’s identity. It generates income, community, and creative exchange. While Flos doesn’t yet have a physical base, this reinforces the potential of temporary spaces, partnerships and pop-ups as sustainable community anchors.
Clarity over chaos: SPILL’s advice to “do fewer things, but do them really well” hit home. Like many small collectives, Flos often juggles multiple projects at once. SPILL reminded me that sustainability isn’t about constant expansion - it’s about focus, care and pacing.
Relationships are long-term assets: SPILL invests in maintaining trust with funders, partners, and audiences over years, not months. Building those consistent relationships can be just as valuable as securing new funding.
Reflection
Leaving Ipswich, I felt encouraged by SPILL’s balance of structure and experimentation. They’re proof that you can be bold and community-rooted at the same time - that “radical” doesn’t have to mean “unstable.” Their success lies not in avoiding bureaucracy, but in approaching it with creativity, empathy and clarity.
For Flos Collective, this visit helped me imagine a sustainable future built on similar principles: care, consistency and curiosity. If we can keep our values at the centre while developing better systems for evaluation, planning and collaboration, we can grow in a way that feels both ambitious and grounded.
Sustainability, I’m learning, isn’t just about money. It’s about building the right conditions - structural, social and emotional - for creativity to thrive.
– Esme, Co-Director, Flos Collective
