Free Studio in Ealing Road Awarded to Midhun Gopi


Free Studio in Ealing Road Awarded to Midhun Gopi

ASC announces our fourth free studio awardee in Ealing Road studios, Midhun Gopi.

Artists’ Studio Company is delighted to announce visual artist Midhun Gopi as the 2026-27 awardee of our free studio at ASC Ealing Road. Midhun’s year-long free workspace residency began in April 2026.

About the artist

Midhun Gopi is a London-based visual artist originally from Kerala, India. Working primarily across painting, drawing, and mixed media, his practice is rooted in personal and cultural journeys between Kerala and London.

His work blends real and imagined spaces, using layered surfaces, fragmented imagery, and archival materials to explore migration, memory, belonging, and transformation. Through landscape imagery and cartographic forms, he considers how histories of movement shape identity and how places continue to exist through memory, emotion, and imagination.

He holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Hyderabad and an MA in Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture from the University of Westminster. His work has been exhibited across India, the UK, and Europe, including London, Bordeaux, Amsterdam, New Delhi, and Moscow. Midhun is currently based at ASC Studios in Alperton through the Brent Free Studio Scheme.

 

We caught up with Midhun to discuss his work and his experience as an artist working in Brent

What does it mean to you to have your studio based in Brent?

Brent has been my home in London, so having a studio here feels especially meaningful. The borough is shaped by migration, cultural diversity and many different personal histories, which connect closely with the themes explored in my work.

My relationship with Brent has developed through local exhibitions and community projects. In November 2025, I participated in Tracing Brent: Stories Behind the Silence at Firepit Art Gallery. In April 2026, I took part in an open studio at ACAVA Barham Park Studios in Wembley. In June 2026, I designed and delivered Canal Stories: Recycled Zine, Paper Boat and Community Map Workshop as part of the Grand Union Summer Festival.

These experiences allowed me to connect with local people through ideas of journeys, memory, home and place-making. Having a studio in Alperton gives me the opportunity to deepen this connection and create work informed by Brent’s landscapes, communities and stories.

How does it feel to have won a year of free studio space, and how do you think this will benefit your practice?

Winning a year of free studio space feels both exciting and reassuring. Affordable and secure working space can be difficult to access in London, so receiving this support gives me the time, stability and freedom to concentrate more fully on my practice.

The studio will allow me to work on a larger scale, experiment with new materials and develop a more ambitious and connected body of work. It will also help me build relationships with other artists at ASC, participate in open studios and become more involved in Brent’s wider creative community.

Are there any upcoming projects you’ll be working on that you can tell us about?

I am currently developing a new body of paintings and mixed-media works exploring migration, memory, belonging and changing urban landscapes. Rooted in journeys between Kerala and London, the works bring together archival traces, landscape imagery and map-like forms.

This project continues ideas developed through my travelling exhibition, VIA, as well as my recent participation in Brent-based exhibitions and community programmes. During my time at ASC Studios, I hope to expand this research through larger paintings, drawings and installation-based works.

I am also interested in developing participatory projects with local communities, building on my recent Canal Stories workshop. These activities could invite people to explore their own journeys, memories and relationships with place through drawing, mapping, collage and storytelling.

For other artists looking to grow their art practice in the borough, how has this scheme changed your perspective on the creative opportunities available in Brent?

The scheme has helped me recognise the range of meaningful creative opportunities developing across Brent. My participation in Tracing Brent, the Grand Union Summer Festival, the ACAVA open studio and now the Brent Free Studio Scheme has allowed me to connect my studio practice with local communities, organisations and places.

It has shown me that opportunities often grow through sustained local engagement—attending events, meeting other artists, responding to open calls and contributing to community projects. I would encourage artists in Brent to remain active, share their work and apply for opportunities, even when they are uncertain about their chances.

Receiving a professional studio space has also changed how I think about the scale and ambition of my practice. It has given me greater confidence to develop new work and to see Brent not only as the place where I live, but as an important part of my creative identity.

To learn more about Midhun and his work visit his website and Instagram.

About the Brent Free Studio Scheme

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. Midhun was selected from a number of applications by a panel with representatives from ASC and Brent Council.

Check out the 2025-2026 Brent Free Studio Winner Sapna Patel here

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.