Destination making

SOHO HOUSE

THE BRIEF

Raise awareness & build community

Soho House wanted help putting Brixton Studio on the map as a buzzing hub of creativity and cool. The aim? To engage a target demographic of young creatives & professionals, to build awareness of the South London space – and its more approachable membership programme.

OUR SOLUTION

Platforming emerging creators & giving everyday humans a voice

Soho House commissioned What Does Not for a 7 month residency with the aim of drawing a diverse crowd and the right target audience. We brought the RAW format to Brixton Studio, taking over all the spaces and transforming them according to the theme of each event.

RAW is an innovative What Does Not format that centres around uncensored storytelling, paired with live music and art. It also acts like an incubator and platform for emerging creators of all kinds.

From hosting a concept fashion stores, to immersive installations, interactive art concepts, live album launches, live painting and more, What Does Not transformed the space from a sleepy coworking space with low engagement and attendance on evenings, to a bustling, inclusive hub of youth culture and everyday humans united by their love of celebrating our shared humanity.

As a result, our curation and programming marketed the space to a hugely diverse audience, and created buzz among the emerging communities that it platformed, as well as the general public.

Interactive installation by emerging set designer, Jeanne Breard, engaging audience in the concept of 'kintsugi' for RAW on the theme of RESILIENCE

Photo from exhibition by emerging photographer, Ellina Hix, and her series 'raw happiness, shown at RAW on theme of COURAGE

The calm before the RAW storytelling at Soho House Brixton Studio, with kintsugi installation in the corner

Live body painting at RAW on the theme of BODIES

Campaign promo by emerging inclusive fashion designer, Vasiliki, who had a concept store at RAW on the theme of BODIES and raised awareness about fashion and disability

House band, Leo Soul, at RAW on the theme of COMPLIMENTS & CONFLICTS which hosted a live album launch and recording for hip hop artist, Tee Peters and the Working Class Band

Art from the exhibit by emerging artist, Shoaib Rivzi, highlighting the queer experience of people of colour in the UK. He paints homoerotic imagery using Urdu script. Shown at RAW on the theme of DEVIANCE

Live life drawing by Cecily Mitchell at RAW on the theme of COURAGE

Storytelling through dance at RAW on theme of BODIES

Audience engagement by emerging photographer, Rio Carciero, and the photographic experiment 'Body Talk' at the RAW on the theme of ACCEPTANCE

Muralist, Luke Gray, explains the thinking behind his live painting at the RAW on the theme of MIND.

Dylan Holloway, a trans man and indie rock musician, shares his story and performs a song, at RAW on the theme of RESILIENCE

WHAT WE DID

Brought in 1,000+ new visitors from across London to put Brixton Studio on the map
Demographics:
- 18-25, 25-35, 35-55
45% uptick in new membership enquiries for Brixton Studio
Platformed over 50 creatives
Gave a voice to over 100 ordinary humans
Tapped into following worlds & communities: dance, art, photography, set design, fashion, music, kink, sex positive, trans, LGBTQ+, mental health, fitness, banking, AI, tech, financial services, creative industries, theatre, film, psychedelics.

Short film by emerging filmmaker, Annie Harmeston, screened at the RAW on the theme of COURAGE.