Free Studio in Ealing Road Awarded to Sapna Patel

ASC announces our third free studio awardee in Ealing Road studios, Sapna Patel.

Artists’ Studio Company is delighted to announce fashion designer, weaver, and stylist Sapna Patel as the 2025-26 awardee of our free studio at ASC Ealing Road. Sapna’s year-long free workspace residency began in April 2025

Sapna specialises in textiles and weave and is the creator of Club Sapna, a vibrant space celebrating the diverse South Asian community through music, culture, and shared experiences of identity and displacement. Her work draws on traditional weaving and craft techniques from Gujarat, exploring South Asian textiles and amplifying community voices through her garments. Rooted in her London upbringing and Gujarati heritage, Sapna’s project is a joyful celebration of culture, creativity, and safe spaces for expression.

By Sapna, the fashion brand founded by the artist herself, explores what it means to navigate the relationship we have with ourselves, our surroundings, our upbringing and various journey that pour into our identities. She said:

“Being born and raised in London whilst having strong connections with Gujarati Culture meant that I had struggled with the experience of understanding my identity – I was never British or Indian enough for society. I found that I could pour my experiences into fashion, and collectively build a community that celebrates this journey of discovering who we are through our shared experiences of diasporic displacement. I curate one of a kind pieces that are made from sustainable materials (deadstock, charity shop, donated fabrics etc) that fuse western silhouettes with South Asian materials. These peces are an accumulation of the Western and South Asian experiences I had growing up, and encourage the community to authentically be themselves in any space they occupy.”

Selected from By Sapna Lookbook 2025:

The Ealing Road Free Studio scheme was developed in partnership with Brent Council, allowing an artist who is resident in the borough access to a free studio space, as well as the opportunity to exhibit at ASC’s Canalside Gallery. Sapna was selected from a number of applications by a panel with representatives from ASC and Brent Council.

The previous artist in residence at Ealing Road studios was painting and textiles artist Emily Moore, who transitioned from graphic design to fine art, completing an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art in 2020. She received the prestigious Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust Award during her studies. Emily is a co-founder and co-chair of RCA BLK, a community group supporting Black visual artists at the RCA. After graduating during the Covid lockdown, she began creating ‘crochet paintings’—a fusion of textiles and fine art—drawing on everyday life and domestic materials to challenge traditional painting conventions. Emily has exhibited her work extensively including Lisson Gallery, Gagosian, Lychee One, Royal Academy of Arts, etc.

ASC is a leading charitable provider of affordable workspaces for artists and makers in London, supporting thousands of creatives since it was established in 1995.