Artists’ Requests to work in the Houses of Parliament

Artists may request permission to work within the House of Commons or the House of Lords. ‘Work’ is usually considered to cover the making of preliminary artworks such as sketches, paintings or photographs, to allow production of a larger work.

Within the House of Commons, these requests are reviewed by the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, for the House of Lords, by the Lord Speaker’s Advisory Panel on Works of Art. Both Committee and Panel, and their respective teams, recommend the artist for approval to the House authorities.

Artists wishing to work within the House of Commons/Lords should complete the Artist Application Form.docx (docx, 138KB) and submit these to heritagecollections@parliament.uk along with a C.V.

Requests may be submitted at any time throughout the year and are collated for review by the Committee or Panel annually in June. One artist per House is given approval to work each year. More than one may be approved under exceptional circumstances.

Artists wishing to work in both houses can submit one form with spaces clearly indicated.

All works of art produced by artists given permission to work in the House of Commons/Lords must be shown to the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art and/or the Lord Speaker’s Advisory Panel on Works of Art, who will be offered first refusal to purchase, unless previously agreed otherwise.

Once the artist has been selected, specific permissions will be confirmed with the Serjeant-at-Arms and/or Black Rod’s Department. The artist will be supported by the Heritage Collections Team where needed.

As Parliament is a working estate, some areas may have limited access or may be subject to time constraints. Artist’s work is subject to the wider rules governing filming and photography in both Houses. Rules depend on where you are on the Estate, what type of work you are conducting, and how you are going to use what you produce. The privacy of those who work in or visit Parliament must be respected at all times. Artists will also need to adhere to the relevant dress code.

For more information see Photography, filming and mobile phone use

More detailed guidelines will be provided to the successful artist.