Putting on your first art exhibition is, in a word, terrifying. Finding an established and reputable gallery that meets your needs can seem impossible, and the amount of organisation and money that goes into planning this nature of event can be mind-boggling. With some imagination, however, you can find spaces with enough light and ease of access to accommodate your art effectively.

Studio spaces are everywhere in London. With flexible lighting and display spaces already in place, it’s easy to stylize the environment to suit your requirements. They also have the facilities and staff to house more unusual requests. While higher in the hire price bracket, it is an option that leaves little room for difficulties.

Depending on your financial budget and amount of work to be displayed, never underestimate the glory of a pub function room. If you speak to the right landlord in the right borough, or use a venue finding service, you can find some really beautiful spaces – often with a skylight roof or glass French doors/walls to let in natural light. If you have instalments that are designed to go outside, finding a quaint beer garden that you can personalize before hand provides a rare opportunity to showcase your work in it’s intended element.

Warehouse spaces can be moulded to your exact needs. By creating ‘internal walls’, you can build your exhibition space from scratch within the enormity of the building. This means you can lay out walkways and displays precisely how you would like them. The disadvantage is that you won’t have a team of venue staff on hand to help – but if you can rope in labour from elsewhere, a warehouse venue has a lot of flexibility and can be very cost-effective and atmospheric. They also rarely have any issues about your providing your own refreshments.