More than a desk. Your creative support system.
Breaking down barriers into the creative industries.
Navigating London’s creative sector solo can be isolating and expensive. Roundhouse Works was built to open up pathways for young people by removing financial and structural barriers.
Whether you need an affordable base or dedicated paid time to build your venture, we provide the space, support, and community you need to turn creative talent into a sustainable career.
You can work anywhere, but you can grow here.
Flexible memberships
Select the option that matches your current career stage and financial setup
Membership
- Ideal if you need an affordable, flexible base to grow at your pace.
- Eligibility: For early stage freelancers and founders aged 18-30 in the creative industries (music, film, performing arts, photography, fashion etc).
- Fees
- 10 days / month: £30/mo (£3/day)
- 15 days / month: £45/mo (£3/day)
- 20 days / month: £60/mo (£3/day) (Ultra-flexible rolling 1-month contract; adjust your package month-to-month).
- Commitment: 6-12 months.
- Application Deadline: Wednesday 6 November 2026, 10am
Development Bursary (new)
- Ideal if you face financial barriers and need paid time to create.
- Eligibility: For early-stage creative freelancers and founders aged 18–30 facing financial or socioeconomic barriers that limit the time you can spend on your creative work (see more below).
- Fees: No fees, we’ll pay you 1 day a week at London Living Wage.
- Commitment: 1 day a week for 6 months, followed by 6 months extended unpaid, free membership.
- Includes everything in a membership, plus 1:1 coaching during your time.
- Application deadline: Wed 11 November, 10am
What's included
Every member accesses the exact same industry-grade setup and support ecosystem.
Dedicated Camden Workspace
- Hot-Desking & Coworking: Flexible desk space, phone booths, breakout lounge, and quiet zones open Monday–Friday, 9am–9pm.
- Production Facilities: Meeting rooms, podcasting suite, and equipment hire.
- Amenities: High-speed Wi-Fi, printing facilities, secure bike storage, locker hire, and kitchen area with free tea and coffee.
- On-Site Support: A dedicated workspace team available daily to help you settle in.
Skills workshops
- Member-Only Workshops: Exclusive sessions covering pricing your work, winning funding, commercial pitching, tax, and marketing strategy.
- Self Made Series: Free access to our wider Self Made series of talks, masterclasses, and networking nights.
Community
- Onboard in a Cohort: Join alongside 30–50 fellow freelancers across the creative industries.
- Peer Network: Member-only socials, skill-sharing sessions, and showcase events managed by our team.
Take a look inside
Introducing the Roundhouse Works Development Bursary
In the UK creative industries, 4 out of 5 creative workers under 35 come from middle-class backgrounds. For many working-class young people, the biggest barrier to entering and staying in the sector isn’t a lack of talent – it’s time.
When you have to work 40+ hours a week in hospitality, retail, or shift jobs just to cover London rent and bills, you can’t afford the unpaid hours required to pitch for clients, build a portfolio, or pitch for funding. As one of our young creatives shared:
“I’m at a time in my life where I am working just to survive. I have no time to work on my passions or come to events because of work.”
We’ve seen that simply offering a ‘free desk’ doesn’t fix economic inequality if you can’t afford the time to sit at it. In fact, our internal evaluation showed that 65% of young creatives on traditional free-desk bursaries disengaged because competing survival-job commitments forced them away.
The Development Bursary changes the equation by paying you for your time, providing working-class talent with the financial breathing room, dedicated workspace, and industry backing needed to build a sustainable freelance career.
Join the January 2027 cohort
- Apply online: Complete our short online form sharing your work and ambitions. Apply by Wed 6 Nov, 10am for membership, and Wed 11 November, 10am for the bursary.
- Tour: If your application is shortlisted, we’ll invite you to an informal visit to Camden to tour the space and meet the team, discuss your goals and see if the programme is right for you.
- Induction day: If selected, you’ll onboard with your cohort in mid-January 2027.
You should apply if:
- Age: You are aged 18–30 and based in London or within commuting distance.
- Creative Discipline: You are a freelancer, sole trader, or early-stage founder working across the creative industries (e.g. music, performing arts, film, TV, podcasting, visual arts, fashion, design, or gaming).
- Career Stage: You are in the first few years of your professional creative journey—building your portfolio, pitching for client work, or launching an early-stage business idea.
- Commitment & Goal: You are looking for a professional workspace base, expert-led business masterclasses, and a peer community to build a sustainable career at your own pace.
- Financial Setup: You are able to make an affordable contribution toward your workspace (£30, £45, or £60 per month) and want flexible hot-desking options tailored to your client schedule.
This membership is NOT for you if:
- You are balancing non-creative survival jobs and need a paid living wage to afford dedicated time on your business (check out the Development Bursary).
- You are looking for an intensive, high-commitment 5-month business launchpad with investor pitch training (check out the Creative Business Accelerator).
- You are looking for a fixed, dedicated desk or private office space (Roundhouse Works operates as a flexible hot-desking coworking space).
- You are under 18 or over 30.
You should apply if:
- You are aged 18–30 and based in London or within commuting distance.
- You are an early-stage creative freelancer or sole trader (e.g. photographer, videographer, audio producer, designer, event curator, creative practitioner) who has had a few paid gigs but is struggling to establish a steady career.
- You are currently experiencing financial or socioeconomic barriers that limit the time you can spend on your creative work (e.g. working non-creative survival jobs to pay rent, low household income, or coming from a working-class background).
- You can commit to spending 1 full working day per week (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm) working on your creative business inside Roundhouse Works in Camden.
- You have a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number, or are willing to register as a sole trader upon joining.
This Bursary is NOT for you if:
- The majority of your monthly income already comes from your creative freelance work.
- You are a full-time university student or fully employed in a non-flexible 9-to-5 job.
- You are an established founder ready to scale a business with employees (check out our Creative Business Accelerator below).
- You are an existing active Roundhouse Works paying member.
The Roundhouse champions diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe in a just society and in the benefit for all gained from the richness of diverse experiences and expressions within cultural output.
Through its youth programmes, the Roundhouse actively seeks to increase diversity and address disadvantage and inequality. Under the provisions made for Positive Action in the Equality Act 2010 the Roundhouse may, in the event of identifying two or more candidates of equal merit, give preference to a candidate or candidates that are from a group that is disproportionately underrepresented or otherwise disadvantaged.
Ready to Launch & Scale a Creative Business?
Creative Business Accelerator
If you have a defined business idea or early-stage company and need an intensive growth launchpad, explore our Creative Business Accelerator.
- 5-month intensive cohort course (Tuesdays, Jan–May 2027)
- Weekly workshops in pitching, branding, business planning and more. Leave with a fully formed business plan, ready to pitch to investors.
- Includes a FREE Roundhouse Works Membership.
- £25 enrolment fee if selected (Free to apply).
- Applications open XXX
- Apply by Monday 17 November 2026, 10am
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
Roundhouse Works is located at 100a Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH, right next to the Roundhouse main venue and 2 minutes from Chalk Farm tube station (Northern Line). The space is open Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm.
Roundhouse Works is a flexible membership and development programme for freelancers and sole traders who need affordable workspace, skills workshops, and peer community to build at their own pace. The Creative Business Accelerator is an intensive 5-month business incubator for founders building companies with employees or commercial products. If you are accepted onto the Accelerator, Roundhouse Works membership is included for free.
Bursary recipients invoice Roundhouse monthly for one 8-hour working day per week calculated at London Living Wage. You must hold a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number or register as a sole trader with HMRC (we provide free workshops to assist you with this setup).
The Roundhouse champions diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe in a just society and in the benefit for all gained from the richness of diverse experiences and expressions within cultural output.
Through its youth programmes, the Roundhouse actively seeks to increase diversity and address disadvantage and inequality. Under the provisions made for Positive Action in the Equality Act 2010 the Roundhouse may, in the event of identifying two or more candidates of equal merit, give preference to a candidate or candidates that are from a group that is disproportionately underrepresented or otherwise disadvantaged.
Roundhouse Works principal partner
