When I heard that the venue for new arts initiative the Pavement Peacocks was being held in a bar, I thought fair play, this is going to be an interesting night, however when I walked into the bar, Barrio North on Essex Rd, London I was taken back by the ambiance. It's not everyday a caravan is used as an indoor seating area, but then this wasn't any normal bar, with art hanging on just about every inch of wall space - it was quite a mission to spot the actual exhibition in the first place.
The exhibition stood out as soon as I made my way over to the rear of the bar, with about 20 different pieces, inspired from eclectic backgrounds, be it the 'Bowling girl' which was an abstract, Picasso-esque depiction of a woman in her birthday suit, or my personal favourite of 'St.Tesco's Cathedral' which I interpreted as the notion that not even St.Pauls' Cathedral is sacred from big corporations such as Tesco in this capitalist world. The prices varied from a modest £50 all the way up to £2500 and there was literally something for every budding artist; street art, contemporary and traditional forms were present, all complimenting each other in the unique environment that we were in.
The Pavement Peacocks initiative was set up by business partners Karl Anthoney and Mike O'Keefe, who are both very much on their grind. Karl who has juggled his two main passions in life, in art and professional football, before choosing to focus on his artistic juices while Mike on the other hand has always been a dab hand at seizing opportunities, having started up his first business when most people were bunking off their A-Levels at the tender age of 18.
Karl was enthusiastic about the project ahead: "If you look at what we are doing here, we are not only offering emerging artists an opportunity to get their art out there, at the same time we are putting the art in an informal environment such as a bar, so people who may not usually be exposed to this sort of art can view it in an environment they feel comfortable in."
To top the night off, not only did the guys provide an open-flamed chocolate fondue set, but there was also live art taking place throughout the event.
"There's so much snobbery in this industry, but we didn't care, we just drove through the barriers because we knew it would be a success. This is only the start of things." Karl added.
I can see real parallels between what Pavement Peacocks are doing within the art community, and what Ctrl.Alt.Shift are doing in the activism sector: both of them are breaking down the barriers that exist and making their field accessible for everyone, reaching a crowd that may not have been able to relate to previous approaches.
The attitude of having a relative disregard for any authority that seeks to hold you back from reaching your potential is one that we should all be adopting to if we are to make any change in this world, be it in the arts industry, the world of activism or any other platform be it in domestic, or global context.
Keep your eyes peeled for the Pavement Peacocks, who could be coming to a bar near you in the not so distant future.
Photos: Alex Hilden-Hall