Giant spider puppeteer among local creatives moving into Bow’s new permanent home

The Bow Arts Trust has welcomed the first local artists to its 70 new, affordable creative studios at the Three Waters development in Bromley-by-Bow, East London.

With the studios already fully leased by local artists, including puppeteer Charlie Tymms, the 26,000 sq ft facility also provides community space for education and engagement with the arts.

Puppeteer Charlie Tymms and giant spider puppet (c) Bow Arts Trust

The launch of the space is a significant milestone for Bow Arts Trust, as its first permanent location in its nearly 30-year history.

In partnership with London developer Mount Anvil and housing association Peabody, Bow Arts has taken a 999-year lease for all the commercial space on the ground floor and mezzanine level of the 327-home development. It will bring world-class artists to the area, continuing their vision of making creative activity sustainable, and creating opportunities to work, learn and enjoy the arts in Bow and across London.

Located at Bow Lock where the three waters of Bow Creek, the River Lea and Limehouse Cut meet, Three Waters provides 327 homes in a mixture of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

Marcel Batteig, CEO of Bow Arts said: “Creativity and culture are what make London a world capital. We are so proud to be able to support the thousands of creative people that contribute to this fact. We are only able to achieve what we do by working with some truly inspiring and committed partners, such as Mount Anvil, with who’s support we are able to offer some of the most affordable, beautiful and inspiring places for creative people to work.

Three Waters Studios is a landmark for Bow Arts as it is our first permanent building. Put simply, Bow Arts is a charity that is committed to affordability – and to managing property well – which means we are able to commit 100% of our surplus revenues generated by our buildings into high quality cultural and educational services for local communities. Three Waters Studios guarantees this community investment in perpetuity for east London.”