Dr Dawn Pereira is an architectural sculptor, historian, artist and educator with a passion for often-overlooked public art, which has led her to champion its interpretation, preservation and commemoration. Her PhD thesis, ‘Art for the “Common Man”: The Role of the Artist Within the London County Council’ (1957-65), examined its prestigious ‘Patronage of the Arts Scheme’ and lesser-known ‘Design Consultant Scheme’ (2008). As Heritage Advisor to the charity Invisible Palace, she recently worked on a National Lottery Heritage Fund project (2021-23) to discover the origins of the Sculptures of the Crystal Palace but also the fate of the Victorian works when the London County Council (LCC) sold many in the 1950s.
Currently, Dawn is completing a monograph about LCC artist William Mitchell, made possible through a Henry Moore Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2017-19) and Terra Foundation for American Art award (2021-22). The monograph chronicles his ‘colourful crusade’ to humanise post-war urban landscapes throughout Britain and internationally. Also, through a Henry Moore Foundation Research and Travel Grant (2025), she is re-visiting the LCC artworks to provide current custodians with information to aid protection and conservation and devise dynamic ways to present this legacy to today’s Londoners.
