Today sees the launch of Art Everywhere – a major new collaborative project between Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, the Art Fund, Tate, and the poster industry.
Described as the ‘world’s biggest art exhibition’, the project will showcase great British art selected by the public and displayed on 22,000 poster sites and billboards across the UK.
The public were invited to help curate the exhibition by selecting their favourite British artworks from a shortlist published from 21 June 2013 on arteverywhere.org.uk. For one week they could choose their favourite works by ‘liking’ them and sharing them through Facebook. With over 30,000 responses, the project clearly struck a chord. Artists featured in the final selection include JMW Turner, L.S Lowry, David Hockney and Tracey Emin.
A projected audience of 90% of the UK’s population will be able to view reproductions of the most popular works across the country for two weeks from 12–25 August. Sites range from office buildings, cinemas and supermarkets to train and metro stations. It also includes 2,000 buses and 1,000 black cabs across the capital.
Speaking at the launch event in Shepherd’s Bush, London, Sir Peter Blake, who had two of his works selected by the public, commented: “Art should be for everybody. It is what I was attempting to do early in my career and maybe this is the fruition of that aim. I think the project is fantastic.”
High profile support
Art Everywhere has been supported by many other high profile artists, including Cornelia Parker, whose Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View is among the works being shown. She said: “It’s a fantastic project and to see my work reproduced on posters across the UK is fulfilling a long held fantasy.”
Bob and Roberta Smith’s work, Make Art Not War, is another of the featured pieces. He said: “It is an amazing project. Quietly it marks a revolution in the reach and relevance of art.”
Using image-recognition and augmented reality technology via Blippar, each physical poster will be interactive, enabling the public to point their phones at the art to access instantaneous information about each piece, visit the collection and socially share their favourites.
Tate Director Nicholas Serota commented: “Tate has a commitment to reaching audiences across the UK, beyond the galleries in London, Liverpool and St Ives. We are delighted to have partnered with Art Everywhere in a celebration of British art that will bring some inspiring images to our streets and provoke conversation and debate about the characteristics of Britain and qualities of British art.”
For more information and a full list of the works being shown, visit www.arteverywhere.org.uk
