With so many of today’s art spaces being moveable feasts—either chasing the market or squeezed out by rocketing rents—all credit to pioneering arts charity Peer for remaining determinedly on Hoxton Street in east London. Peer should also be credited for enhancing its direct surroundings with two major new permanent public commissions situated on and around the two Hoxton Street shop fronts that the 20-year-old charity has occupied since 2002.
One of these is an installation by London Fieldworks of more than 200 bird and insect boxes modelled on the area’s social housing. The other is a four-metre high pedestal clock with a four sided face and lightbox for changing displays beneath. Described by Peer’s founding director Ingrid Swenson as “Hoxton’s Fourth Plinth,” the clock will be the site of a rolling programme of invited artist’s commissions, which will change every year when the clocks go back for British Summer Time. The first artist to transform this public timepiece will be the former local resident Chris Ofili, who is currently in the process of designing a clock face punctuated by his trademark “Afro-heads”.
This combination of major international names and grassroots loyalty is typical of Peer. Over the past two decades this low-key but highly influential organisation has been quietly responsible for some landmark commissions. These include the first version of Martin Creed’s giant neon sign, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT (1999) on the pediment of a former orphanage in Hackney; a massive labyrinthine installation by Mike Nelson at the 2001 Venice Biennale; a show of Anthony McCall’s “solid lightworks” in a Clapton chapel; and Fiona Banner’s recent foray in the City of London accompanied by Magnum war photographer Paolo Pellegrin.
In the words of the remarkable Ingrid Swenson, Peer’s core aim has always been to make art “available to everyone”. And this desire to integrate art into the fabric of everyday life has manifested itself in a number of projects including special signs painted by Bob and Roberta Smith for neighbouring shops and giant granite boulders for local parks by the sculptor John Frankland. From its modest premises it has also mounted a host of other important exhibitions of specially commissioned new work by the likes of Stuart Brisley, Mark Wallinger, Danh Vō, Jeff McMillan, John Smith, to name but a few.
Along with its two new public commissions, Peer is also fundraising for the last stage of a major refurbishment that will unify and freshen up its premises—with all elements completed for a grand unveiling on 13 April. (In characteristically public-spirited style, Peer has already transformed the area directly in front of the gallery into a welcoming community “pocket park” with specially designed seating, planting, paving and bike parking. In order to enable the smooth passage of this final stage, 17 major artist devotees of Peer have donated works for a fundraising auction to be held at Sotheby’s, as part of their Contemporary Curated sale at 10.30am on 15 March. These include Jake and Dinos Chapman, Grayson Perry, Gavin Turk, Phyllida Barlow, Antony Gormley, Hannah Collins and Cornelia Parker.
Many of these were present at this week’s dinner, including Angela de la Cruz, who will be mounting the inaugural show in the refurbished Peer with her giant 10m by 12m work Larger than Life, which will be compressed into Peer’s space. It is an appropriate symbol for an organisation that over the years has attracted so much loyalty both at home and abroad for punching so effectively above its weight.