40 Artists, 40 Days, a new online initiative, created jointly by BT, Tate and London 2012, designed to showcase the breadth and depth of British artistic talent via the internet, was launched today at Tate Modern by celebrated artist, Sam Taylor-Wood and British Olympian, Amir Khan.
The initiative aims to further build public support for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Bid ahead of the International Olympic Committee’s announcement of the host city on 6 July.
Forty famous names from the visual and performing arts, design and fashion have signed up to the unique project, believed to be the first of its kind. Each work, in either voice, music, text, performance or visual art format, will be published at Tate Online (www.tate.org.uk) in support of the Bid to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Great Britain in 2012. One new piece will be revealed on each of the forty days from 27 May to 5 July.
Sam Taylor-Wood’s photographic portrait of Amir Khan, created this morning at Tate Modern to launch the project, has been uploaded to www.tate.org.uk/40artists40days and becomes the first artwork to be revealed. Other artists who have pledged their enthusiastic support of the project include Norman Foster, Paul Smith, Antony Gormley, Mario Testino and Rafael Bonachela. The running order in which artists’ works will be unveiled is to be kept secret to maintain an element of surprise for those logging on to Tate Online, which is sponsored by BT and which, as the UK’s number one arts website, boasts 700,000 unique users per month.
Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, commented:
This initiative focuses attention on Britain’s exceptional creative talent and is vital in helping to build support for the Bid from the public in the final stages of the campaign as well as sending out a clear message that London would be an ideal host city.
Winning the Bid would not only transform an entire area of our capital with new sporting venues, affordable housing and an urban park, but would also give us the opportunity to showcase twenty-first century Britain to the world. It is about bringing together diverse cultures and supporting the enthusiasm and talent of our young people; and it is about celebrating Britain’s great creative energy in a cultural programme that will benefit all kinds of artistic organisations and individuals.
He continued:
We are grateful to BT, a London 2012 Premier Partner, and to Tate for developing this unique online project and applaud all the artists taking part. Like all of us at 2012, they share a vision of the sporting and creative energy the Olympic & Paralympic Games could bring to this country.
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, said:
The vision for 2012 is that sport and the arts will come together in London for the biggest celebration this century will have ever known. For other cities and countries that have hosted the Games, the cultural programme was significant, but nonetheless of secondary importance. For London, the Cultural Olympiad is part of its essence. Tate Modern and Tate Britain are part of the drive to make London Olympic Capital in 2012. As always, the secret to success is in knowing that you can make it. I believe we can win, and that it will give London and the world an arts and sporting celebration to remember and a lasting cultural legacy.
Paul Leonard, head of sponsorship at BT, added:
The Olympic Bid provides a highly appropriate showcase for BT’s technical expertise and we feel we can make a very significant contribution both now and in the future planning of the Games if the Bid is successful. There is a natural synergy for us in applying our technical knowledge to the Bid and to Tate Online and bringing these two partners together in a ground-breaking way to engage and inspire vast audience via creative use of the web.
BT has provided significant support for the London 2012 Bid by supplying voice, internet and mobile services for the 90-strong team throughout the crucial Bid process.
BT’s 21st Century Network investment in network infrastructure in London, to be delivered by 2009, will provide a key differentiator in London’s ambitions to stage the games. Should London’s Bid be successful, BT has committed to underwrite the £40m costs of fibre installations in the Olympic Village.
BT has been sole sponsor of Tate Online since 2001, providing both technical and financial support to the site which is the most visited arts website in the country and whose visitor figures now stand at nearly 700,000 per month.
For more information, and to register your support dial 0870 870 2012 (fixed rate of 10p per call), visit www.london2012.com or text LONDON to 82012.