General Public Agency
transparent
-
60th Anniversary Arts Council England

Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts in England, celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006/2007. In order to mark the event General Public Agency was engaged to devise, curate and produce a national celebratory programme. The celebratory campaign took the form of art commissions printed on everyday objects, which were mass-produced and widely distributed. The aim was to punctuate public life with cultural themes.

The first stage of the programme was the production of artist designed re-usable carrier bags in partnership with Sainsbury's. The bags, by artists Michael Craig-Martin, Anya Gallacio and Paul Morrison, resulted in a 70% increase in Bag for Life sales, successfully demonstrating the power of art to shift behaviour. The second stage of the programme was a series of artist-designed travel wallets, which were distributed at travel interchanges nationwide. Ten artists from different disciplines responded to the commission by explicitly addressing the theme of travel, with a collection of provocative, engaging and beautiful art works that address topical issues including identity, environmentalism and the rural. The commissioned artists were: Jyll Bradley, Buffy, Michael Clark, Tracey Emin, Tim Etchells, Bernardine Evaristo, Antje Schiffers, Adam Sutherland, TY and Jeanette Winterson.

DATE: August 2006 - March 2007
IMAGES: 1 / 2 / 3
Bags by Michael Craig-Martin and Paul Morrison