Artist Henrik Delehag is raising the funds to prevent a 19th century south-London church Tower from being turned into luxury flats.

His ambitious idea is to secure the property for the use of 100 Artists for the next 100 Years. “This place is unique”, Delehag says, “it would be a shame to lose it, as it has the ability to inform the work of many artist for years to come”. Every year the Tower will become the home and practice to a new artist. A trust will be set up to annually choose an artist that has a project in mind that will benefit the local community and the world at large.

In order to make this happen Henrik is raising funds by selling his own work. It’s been a phenomenal success, with over £250,000 raised in just 20 days, but still a long way from the One Million pound price tag. Please support this transformative mission by purchasing a piece of art by Henrik Delehag. With time running short, it is now or never. 

The Backstory

The 19th-century South-East London church tower fell into private ownership back in 2010. Artist Henrik Delehag became its tenant in 2016. To his great regret, he had to move out shortly before the pandemic hit. Having to walk past the empty tower every day throughout Lockdown no.1, he came to understand its true potential. For the community, and for the important work that it could facilitate in this strange new world. A vision of sorts. The de-commissioned church may have lost its original function, but that doesn’t change the fact it is still our revered and structural centre – literally the pillar of our community. It should stand for something, rather than nothing. With the support from his loyal following, he fund-raised enough capital to convince the Landlord to let him back in – only this time for work purposes only. For the past 10 months he's been on a relentless mission to reinstall the studio and prepare The Tower for its new role in the world. Then the disastrous news. Despite the Landlords best wishes for the practice, he needs to sell. So, it is Now or it's Never.

The Mission

From up here we will devise a new set of icons for humanity to gather around. We will arrive at new conclusions, through active negotiation with our diverse community and the world surrounding it. New challenges demand new explanations. Together we will convert the confusion into typographic essence, and arrive at new standards, as well as new Gods. We will make it a meeting of minds, collaborations. We will make this Tower our point of reference again – a canvas, a light-post, a transmitter of purpose and resistance – a totem for now. From here we will investigate how creativity can help us ride the tide and bring about real change. Locally and everywhere else. Like rings on the water. From it will spring a truly global community, guided only by our own radical reorganisation of the priorities. We will be an unstoppable force towards our better purpose. And whenever we stray, we will ring the bell, to call us back to base.

Who am I?

I am Henrik Delehag, Iconographer and the current self-appointed Custodian of The Tower. As an iconographer I distil a complex reality into symbols of our mutual understanding. It is my duty and privilege to collect the memories and history of this place and keep it an active ingredient of the work that we do. It will help to inform where we're all going. I do not subscribe to any organised religion, although I hold them all as sacred. I have faith in humans, and in our ability to align and organise ourselves in ways that transcends our divisions. I believe we must gather around something, urgently – first then can our vital work begin. A tower should be engaged in a two-way conversation with its community, maybe now so more than ever. Me and my team of collaborators will facilitate that conversation. We will be informed by the elders and activate the young. We will turn it on.

The Transmission

Building on Henrik Delehag’s buzzing Instagram following of 55k, the account will expand into a narrative about the project. Step by step we follow the work being conceived, negotiated, produced, and finally released into the wild. The Tower will be brought to life, proclaim its purpose and mission. Neighbours and followers activated. Events live-streamed. It will be a beautiful ride, at a strange time.

100 ARTISTS 100 YEARS

This Tower should not belong to anyone, but to everyone. We truly do not want to own it, as it’d contradict all the good work we want to make here. Our ambitious idea is to secure the property for the use of 100 Artists for the next 100 Years. Every year the Tower will become the home and practice to a new artist. A trust will be set up to annually choose an artist that has a project in mind that will benefit the local community and the world at large. But first we need to secure the property. Support this transformative mission by purchasing a piece of art by Henrik Delehag. Each purchase will come with a Certificate of Patronage. With time running short, it is now or never.

The Church.

The Church stood ready in 1852, towering over the then affluent South-London neighbourhood of Forest Hill. It was deemed so successful that it became the prototype for another hundred churches just like it across England and awarded architect Ewan Christian the commission to design The National Portrait Gallery. The freehold is still owned by The Church of England.

When the dilapidated church was converted into apartments in 2010, the tower was kept as a single abode, with clock, bell and stained-glass windows left in place or restored.

Two falcons’ nest at the top of the Spire, sending the undesirable remains of their prey splashing onto the windowsills. The few listed graves that survived the conversion include the Tetley tea family and the [Charlie] Chaplin family.

The views are paramount: 360 degrees expose over South London and beyond. The tower can be seen from all over South London – and beyond. At night the helipads of the City flare up in the distance. With no other tall structure in-between, it creates an air of defiance to the status quo, and a perfect picture story. In short, it is a magical place.

The Arrangement

The Tower stretches into the sky in a vertical maze of 10 floors and sub-floors. Each floor fills a function in this well-oiled machine, the creative flow works its way up the structure towards its final release from the spire.