It’s safe to say you’ve probably already walked or cycled past some major pieces of British art without even realising it.
This August, 22,000 poster and billboard sites across the UK made Great Britain into the world’s largest art gallery. Art Everywhere is the first of its kind and is truly amazing. Artists themselves, as well as media owners, entrepreneurs, and curators have joined together by a pure love of art. But best of all, with people like us, the general public. Who rose over £30,000 to make the 3 million pound project happen.
Rrunning until 26th August you can see the likes of Bacon, Emin, Hirst and Hockney as well as iconic pieces from Lowry and Freud, and classical pieces from Constable.
Art Everywhere launch from The Art Fund on Vimeo.
Artwork which spans 15th century masterpieces up to modern day contemporary works by the likes of Anish Kapoor have all been voted by members of the public and will feature not only on billboards and poster sites, but also taxicabs, buses, and the London Underground. According to the Art Fund, the Art Everywhere exhibition will be seen by 90% of the UK’s adult population. That’s pretty mind blowing.
Richard Reed, co-founder of the Art Fund, and smoothie makers Innocent is one of the brains behind the project and says, “It’s a nourishing, exciting surprise to see art where you wouldn’t expect to see it. This is one of the few ways left of reaching everyone in the country at the same time”
One of the very few living artists Cornelia Parker is thrilled that her work has been selected to feature in Art Everywhere. Parker says of her piece Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, “I am absolutely delighted that the British public have voted my work…It’s a fantastic project and to see my work reproduced on posters across the UK is fulfilling a long held fantasy!”
So next time your cycling through Hackney or Tower Hamlets, doing a spot of shopping in Westfield, make sure to take a closer look at that bus stop poster. It could be Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott.