Bold Tendencies

Bold Tendencies is a not-for-profit organisation based in the rooftop spaces at Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park, London.

Founded in 2007, Bold Tendencies created a public space in this disused building, and over 15 years has transformed the site into an experimental civic space and much-loved place of assembly.

Bold Tendencies supports artists to develop their ideas and to realise site-specific projects and present live performances from its rooftop home. It commissions new visual art and architecture and produces an award-winning live events programme of music, dance, opera and readings.

New architecture commissioned for the site includes Frank’s Cafe (2009) and the Straw Auditorium (2010) by Practice Architecture and the Peckham Observatory (2017) and Concert Wall (2016) by Cooke Fawcett. The acoustic remastering of the covered spaces is being designed by Feilden Fowles (2023).

Bold Tendencies is for everyone. We have welcomed more than 2.5 million people in 15 summer seasons since 2007, animating the programme and the site for the neighbourhood through standalone education and community initiatives that take culture and civic values seriously.

Bold Tendencies celebrates the free enjoyment of public space in the city, welcoming participation in its rich, experimental programme and preserving open access to this special, spectacular place.

After 10 years Sainsbury’s moved in 1992 to its present location on Dog Kennel Hill. Two years later in 1994 the Rye Lane site was transformed into a cinema – Peckhamplex – which has occupied the space of the former Peckham supermarket ever since. From then on, the adjoining car park infrastructure was underused, eventually disused,  and the top four floors were closed from public access.

Bold Tendencies was started in 2007 with the support and encouragement of Russell Profitt and David Strevens at Southwark Council. The top floors of the car park were reopened to the public as a sculpture exhibition and Bold Tendencies was established as a not-for-profit organisation. It has since developed an annual summer season of site-specific art, new architecture and live events.

In 2017, Bold Tendencies reached an agreement with Southwark Council for a new long-term lease. The car park was taken off the local area redevelopment plan, solidifying the cultural status of the building for years to come and guaranteeing Bold Tendencies a secure future in its home in these unique spaces.

Chief Executive
Hannah Barry (she/her)

Hannah Barry studied History of Art at the University of Cambridge and started her work in Peckham in 2006. She founded Bold Tendencies as a not for profit project in 2007. She is on the Board of Artangel and on the Serpentine Contemporary Council. She sat on the Mayor of London’s Night Time Commission (2017-18) and was Founding Co-Chair of the Chinati Contemporary Council in Marfa, Texas (2013).

Managing Director
Diana Cordoba Barrios (she/her)

Diana studied at the Universidad de las Americas Puebla, Mexico. From 2006 she worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice where she became an Intern Coordinator, running the prestigious Guggenheim Internship Programme. She was selected by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to run the USA Pavilion for the 53rd and 54th Art Venice Biennale. She designed and delivered educational programmes with USA Pavilion partner museums including Indianapolis Museum of Art, Ponce Museum, Puerto Rico, Bronx Museum of Art, New York.

Site and Production Manager
Tom Kelly (he/him)

A graduate of Royal Academy of Music specialising in performance (cello), Tom has always had a passion for live events whether on stage or off. Tom began freelancing in 2010 as a Stage and Production Manager for a variety of concert halls and production companies in London, including Kings Place, Roundhouse and Spitalfields Music. This led to taking on the role of Orchestral Manager for The Multi-Story Orchestra in 2015 before joining the Bold Tendencies team as Site and Production Manager in 2016. In 2020 Tom brought the responsibility of Safeguarding Officer into his role.

Artist Liaison
Charlie Mills (he/him)

Charlie Mills is a curator and writer based in South East London. Since 2017 he has worked as Artist Liaison for Bold Tendencies and Hannah Barry Gallery. Charlie curates and produces independent exhibitions across London and writes for a number of international galleries and artists, as well as conducting regular interviews for a number of online and print publications. Charlie is a founding member of Collective Ending HQ, a collectively run gallery and studio complex in Deptford, South East London. He graduated with a Bachelors in History of Art and a Masters in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths College in 2016 and 2018, respectively.