What began as a conversation between two art students became one of the South West’s most significant creative social enterprises. In 2015, Jennifer Jayarakah and Leigh Mason opened Ocean Studios Plymouth in the city’s Royal William Yard. Ocean Studios reported that the project cost £4.2 million, funded through a blend of public grants, social investment and community fundraising. More than a decade later, their project remains a useful case study for any woman founder considering a women-led business in the UK’s creative sector.
Jayarakah and Mason met while studying entrepreneurship for creative practice. They incorporated Ocean Studios as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2008 and spent seven years building the funding, partnerships and community needed to open the doors. A pivotal moment came in November 2011, when an auction of donated artworks raised what Ocean Studios described as £30,000 in seed funding. That early success demonstrated that artists and collectors believed in their vision, and gave them the credibility to secure larger grants and investment.
From the outset, the founders wanted Ocean Studios to be more than a landlord for artists. Jayarakah’s own practice had explored minority, gender and participation issues, and those themes became central to the organisation’s identity. The opening exhibition, A Taste of Things to Come, set the tone with work addressing feminism, diversity, radicalism and social engagement, alongside pieces by Grayson Perry, Mary Kelly and Gillian Wearing.
“Ocean Studios exists to support artists. We are passionate about raising aspirations and nurturing talent by offering a range of opportunities for artists, including space to make, think, talk and exhibit. We want to dismiss the notion that art is for an elite and to welcome everyone to Ocean Studios.”
The creative social enterprise model
As a CIC, any surplus was reinvested into the artist community rather than distributed to shareholders. This legal structure allowed Ocean Studios to keep rents affordable and prioritise access over profit. The original site included individual studios, shared workspaces, well-equipped workshops, two education spaces and an exhibition and retail area. For women founders who want to combine trading with a social mission, the CIC is one of several structures worth exploring alongside B Corp certification and charitable incorporated organisations. The key is to match the legal form to your intended impact: a CIC locks your social purpose into the company’s constitution, which can reassure public funders and attract mission-aligned investors.
Women in the creative industries
The decision to foreground women’s voices was deliberate. As Jayarakah noted at the time, the art world was male-dominated, and some people were sceptical about two young women leading a multi-million-pound capital project. That experience still resonates. According to the 2023 Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, only one in five UK businesses is led by women, and women founders continue to receive a disproportionately small share of equity finance. The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2023/24 report found that all-women founder teams received just 2% of equity investment deals in 2022.
The creative industries themselves carry significant economic weight. According to DCMS economic estimates published in 2024, the sector generated £126.1 billion in gross value added in 2022 and employed around 2.4 million people across the UK. Much of that value depends on affordable workspace and on founders willing to build organisations that serve communities as well as balance sheets.
Four lessons for women founders
For women thinking about starting or scaling a creative business, the Ocean Studios story offers several practical lessons.
- Start with a clear social purpose. The CIC structure gave Jayarakah and Mason a legal framework that matched their values and reassured public funders such as Arts Council England.
- Use small wins to build credibility. The 2011 art auction raised £30,000, modest by capital-project standards, but it proved demand and unlocked larger opportunities.
- Expect resistance and plan for it. Women founders in male-dominated sectors often have to work harder to be taken seriously, so building a strong board, advisory network and evidence base is essential.
- Think long term. Turning a student idea into a £4.2 million arts complex took seven years of patient relationship-building.
Funding routes for creative women-led businesses
Ocean Studios relied on a mix of seed fundraising, grants and partnership income. Today, women founders in the creative sector can explore business grants for women in the UK and crowdfunding for women founders, alongside Start Up Loans and Arts Council England project grants. Each route has different eligibility rules and reporting requirements, so matching the funding source to your legal structure and social purpose is critical. Grants tend to favour organisations with a clear community benefit, while crowdfunding can validate demand before you commit to a lease or major capital spend.
Conclusion
Ocean Studios Plymouth showed that a values-led, women-led business could reshape a city’s cultural economy. As the UK’s creative sector continues to grow, the project stands as a model for how a creative social enterprise, artistic ambition and determined entrepreneurship can turn a student dream into lasting public value. For women founders today, the lesson is clear: start with purpose, build evidence early, and choose a legal structure that keeps your mission intact.
