Peer Ambassadors is an alternative, participant-led ‘art school’ that works with and supports young people aged 17–25 from underrepresented and working-class backgrounds based in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The programme provides an experimental space for young people to learn, collaborate, and build community.
Running since 2017 and now in its ninth year, Ambassadors continue to contribute to Peer’s programmes of exhibition and events, as well as staff and governance. Previous Peer Ambassadors have gone on to study arts courses in higher education, work in professional arts settings and sit on the boards of arts charities and museums.
2026 PROGRAMME
This year, thirteen Peer Ambassadors are taking part in a new nine month programme in collaboration with Shoreditch Library, exploring creative writing, storytelling and overlooked local histories. The project takes inspiration from the writing of Vivian Usherwood, whose poems were published by Hackney cooperative Centerprise in 1972 when he was just twelve years old.Working with creatives, artists, writers, historians and Peer’s curatorial team, the cohort are exploring Usherwood’s poetry, visiting archives, gathering local oral history, experimenting with different artistic skills and making, and developing new writing individually and in a group. The project will culminate in a public mural inside Shoreditch Library, created collaboratively by Peer Ambassadors and an artist in response to writing produced over the course of the programme.
WHAT THE 2026 AMBASSADORS HAVE BEEN UP TO
Since joining at the end of March the cohort has visited Hackney Archives, exploring working-class community publishing with social historian and writer Ken Worpole and archivist Lydia Julien. They have taken part in a walking tour through Dalston and Hoxton with curator and writer Matthew Holman, looking at public artwork as a tool for political expression, community gathering and cultural geography. Upcoming sessions include writing and performing workshops with MC and wordsmith Razor, and writer, researcher and lecturer Lola Olufemi. Ambassadors will also be sharing new writing as part of the talks events and workshops programme accompanying Okiki Akinfe’s exhibition at Peer.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
WHAT TO EXPECT
• Paid work and training at £13.85 per hour as visitor experience assistants at Peer’s street-facing gallery – welcoming and introducing the public to Peer’s programme and building your confidence and communication skills.
• Working with other young people to shape a programme of mentoring sessions, talks, workshops, and museum and gallery visits.
• A free creative programme shaped and led by you including artist, curator and writer-led workshops, research sessions and visits to community organisations, youth groups and local cultural institutions.
• Developing your own practice by experimenting with new skills and ways of working in a non-pressured environment.
• Collaborating with artists, writers and other young creatives on an artwork shared with your local community.
• Contributing to your community by connecting with other like-minded young people, making friends and contributing to your local area. Through the programme you will have access to networks of arts professionals and opportunities, and will be supported with professional development through one to one mentoring.
WHO CAN APPLY
To be a Peer Ambassador you need to be:
• Aged 17–25
• Live, work or study in Hackney or Tower Hamlets
• From working class backgrounds and/or from groups underrepresented in the arts and cultural sector
• Interested in contributing to all aspects of the programme
• Available to attend fortnightly sessions at Peer and Shoreditch Library (and occasionally offsite)
GET INVOLVED
Applications for Peer Ambassadors 2026 are now closed. Our next taster session will be held later this year in Autumn - keep an eye on this page and Peer’s social media for updates.
PREVIOUS PEER AMBASSADORS
2025
Aisha, Angelica, Arin, Beverley, Davina, Khadija, Laaibah, Mi’Armani, Munisha, Orlando, and Zeina
2024
Arifah, Arin, Ilya, Kit, Kuri, Mi’Amarni, Phosphene, Rebecca, and Samiyyah
2023–2024
Faaiza, Forhana, Kimberly, Kuri, Kit, Orlando, Phosphene, and Tasia
2023
Aakifah, Amir, Carina, Ebrar, Faaiza, Khadijah, Luana, and Tasia
2017–2022
Shaan, Amrin, Georgie, Deniz, Beatriz, Betty, Darnell, Donnoyja, Joyce, Rivka, Robyn, Ahinoa, Carmela, Hadass, Danita, Tapiwa, Toyin, Jay, Aantu, Gideon, Iarla, Naile, Amida, Fatim, Devinya, Ellise, Ayomide, Thalia, Jaye, Christina, Karishma, Marianne, Geirthana, Mariam, and Cynthia
SUPPORTERS
Peer Ambassadors 2026 is supported by Hackney Council Community Fund and NCEL Collaborative/Compass Wellbeing CIC. With thanks to Great Art.
Previous iterations of the programme have been supported by Hackney Council (2025), Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund (2022–24) and Paul Hamlyn Foundation (2019–21).
