Giant Portrait Of Queen Projected On Buckingham Palace

Diamond Jubilee Artists Tracey Emin Gavin Turk and Yinka Shonibare contribute self portraits for Face Britain Auction

Face Britain, one of the largest online collaborative art project ever conceived, reaches its conclusion today with the digital projection of over a two hundred thousand self portraits by children uploaded as part of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & The Arts sponsored by His Royal Highness Prince Charles. The project will culminate with the works being composited to create a giant portrait of the Queen. It is exhibited as part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations tonight at Buckingham Palace.

The portraits have already been displayed in the online gallery and at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, where children across the United Kingdom, have been learning about the art of self portraiture thanks to this educational project from The Prince’s Foundation. Face Britain was open to all children and young people aged 4-16 years throughout the UK and gave them the opportunity to create self portraits which will be publicly displayed across the country and projected on to the frontage of Buckingham Palace tonight 19th April. Kate Middleton visited the DPG last December as part of the project.

Artists Quentin Blake, Angela de la Cruz, Tracey Emin, Ryan Gander,Bob & Roberta Smith, Gavin Turk, Emily Patrick, Rankin, Yinka Shonibare, Gerald Scarfe, and even the illustrators of The Beano, are just some of the named artists who contributed to Face Britain. Self portraits by the artists and other celebrity patrons will be auctioned to raise money for this great cause.

Speaking on film at the Face Britain launch event, HRH The Prince of Wales said;  “As Founder and President of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, I firmly believe that everyone should have the opportunity, at an early age, to be given access to and to be inspired by the arts. Sustained access to performance and visual arts can empower children to explore their creativity and to enhance their personal development and self-esteem.”With this in mind, I am delighted that my Foundation for Children and the Arts is to invite all children and young people in the United Kingdom to engage actively in the art of selfportraiture and to participate in Face Britain”.

The organisation which also includes high profile patrons and art school graduates who have followed alternative career paths, such as Brian Eno, Brian Ferry and Alan Rickman. Others have a natural talent and passion for portraiture, such as Fearne Cotton, David James and Derren Brown. However, all subscribe to the message of Face Britain, that art should be an open door, beneficial to everyone. It is not a competition so anyone can take part, regardless of ability or circumstance. In the process of bringing art to as many children as possible, Face Britain will also attempt to establish a new Guinness World RecordTM for the most artists working on the same art installation.

The wide variety of celebrity and sporting self portraits including those by Fearne Cotton, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Sir Geoff Hurst, Nick Park, The Wanted and a host of other famous names, will be auctioned on eBay between 3-13 May 2012.

Artists Self portraits and donated artwork by established artists including Maggi Hambling and Tracey Emin will be auctioned at a live event at Christie’s, King Street, London on 9 May 2012.

Tags

, ,