If you’re looking for hidden gems in Hockley, there is nowhere better than Cobden Chambers – home to The Drawing Room Gallery & Tattoo Studio. Built for artists by artists, at the centre of their mission is a radical promise: local artists pay nothing upfront to exhibit their work and still get to keep the majority of their profits. We interviewed gallery manager Luke Bagley, and Emily Sewell, partner of the gallery and the owner of Paper Skin Tattoo.
Hi Luke, The Drawing Room opened almost a year ago in December 2025. Looking back, what specific obstacles did you see local artists facing in Nottingham that made you say, ‘We need to create a different kind of space?
Luke: It was Emily and her business partner Bo’s idea to form the place. Bo’s an ex-art school teacher, and he felt that emerging artists had nowhere to put their artwork that wouldn't rip them off or charge them huge commissions. The ethos behind the place was to create a space for anybody, really, who wants to show their talent and not be ripped off for it.
How does removing traditional commission fees change the trajectory for emerging local artists?
Luke: It gives them more ownership over their artwork, because as they sell, they're getting the majority of that money. We encourage artists to put that money back into their art with materials, equipment, time, lessons – whatever they might need to further their career. We want them to feel like it is not an unachievable thing to get into a gallery.
Emily, why was integrating a tattoo studio central to your setup from the beginning?
Emily: It enables us to keep commissions low as the tattoo studio covers our costs, so we then don't have to worry about making loads of money in the gallery. Instead, we can actually focus on trying to sell work for the artists rather than having to sell stuff for us. They also get to work with a group of artists from the tattoo studio, so there is networking involved.
The Drawing Room offers artists’ guidance from art experts and bookings to host your own private catered event. How do community-focused events help keep the gallery self-sustaining without having to rely on corporate sponsorship?
Luke: We don't do events to make money. We just do them. We enjoy having a sip and sketch in the morning because it's just nice to see people being creative. There isn't really a financial incentive behind it, just bringing it back to building up the art community. It’s nice to see fifteen people sitting in the sun with a coffee, learning different techniques.
Emily: It's better for people to have an opportunity to get out and do something that doesn't cost them. We can offer a three-hour drawing session for free; why not? It doesn't cost us anything, and if there are artists out there that want to run sessions for the experience, we'd be more than happy for them to come and run a session like that.
We encourage artists to put that money back into their art with materials, equipment, time, lessons, whatever they might need to further their career
Looking ahead, what's your ambition for the gallery over the next coming years?
Emily: I think the ambition is to continue to build our little art community. To continue growing the tattoo side as well. We've taken on a couple of apprentices and things for tattooing. I'd love to run more sessions.
Luke: We've got no intention of expanding to a bigger place or anything like that. It's just that we like this cute little thing here, building our own art collection.
Find The Drawing Room at Unit 2, Cobden Chambers, Pelham St, Nottingham NG1 2ED
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