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Art News, Urban Art

The BIG Art Project

The Big Art Project was started in 2006, by Channel 4 of England, as an ambitious endeavor to allow the public to influence the commissioning of immense public works of art. It also was a movement, backed by the Arts Council England, to generate new art in England (with public involvement). So, courtesy of an invitation by youth of the city of Burnley, the artist’s group known as Greyworld accepted an offer to collaborate with 15 of the city’s youth. Together, Greyworld and the 15 youngsters turned the city of Burnley into a living-canvas, the only one of its kind on Earth. This is the first of 7 public works of art to be featured in England in 2008 as a result of The Big Art Project.

Greyworld is a group of London artists who have created many large and permanent art fixtures in Europe. Their style is as unconventional as it is incredible. One of their artistic installations took the shape of a light-blue carpet attached to the Millennium Bridge in Dublin, Ireland. The blue pathway is embedded with a multitude of sensors that translates every person’s walking into the curiously vivid sounds. As you traverse the bridge, sounds of autumn leaves crushing beneath your feet toy with your reality. Perhaps a few moments later the sound of sloshing through water will emanate, or trekking through snow.

Greyworld was provoked to produce “Invisible” for this project, which was unveiled March 14, 2008, and is a series of phantom images in 19 locations throughout the city of Burnley in Lancashire, England. The images are made of light and reflected throughout the city at various times throughout the night and day. They vary from being painting-style and sized to being house-sized. In the same manner that this entire endeavor will unknowingly transform the citizens of Burnley into wandering art connoisseurs, the world will soon see Burnley as an artistic creation worth wandering into, as well.

The zeal at which the youth of Burnley administered this project shows what a sense of belonging can do for a community. The world can also learn from this revolutionary new art proposal system where local people dictate, commission and generate art for their communities. Afterwards, the art of each community would be a direct representation of that community’s personality through choice, and would correlate to the quality of life and respect that even visitors have for those respective communities.

More art will be showcased as part of The Big Art Project in the England cities of Cardigan, Mull, Newham, North Belfast, Sheffield and St. Helens. All of the projects have projected completion dates within 2008. The Big Art Project, inspired by Channel 4, has joined local communities with artist for the artistic development of the populous. The result is a fervent uprising in art for England and the world.