Several million people saw and over 58,000 people visited Ryoji Ikeda’s spectra, as the light beamed thousands of metres into the sky marking the start of the First World War. Produced and presented by Artangel, co-commissioned with The Mayor of London (photo: Will Eckersley).
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 1
VIKKI HEYWOOD, CBE LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN, 14-18 NOW 14-18 NOW is a major cultural programme taking place across the United Kingdom to mark the centenary of the First World War. Working across all art forms, 14-18 NOW is commissioning new works of art that will reverberate for the next 100 years and inspire communities who may not feel that heritage or the arts is for them. We’ve been humbled and delighted by people’s response to 14-18 NOW’s programme so far. In the summer of 2014 I walked among the Giants in Liverpool with a million others, I was one of 21,439 who wrote a letter to the statue of the Unknown Soldier and alongside 16.7 million people I turned off my lights to mark the centenary of the beginning of War.
‘We need your help to create artworks that will be remembered 100 years from now’ The potential of this programme and people’s appetite to connect with their heritage through art is enormous, but without your support it will not be realised. The Centenary gives us an unrepeatable opportunity to bring millions more people together in reflection on our shared past, present and future. Support 14-18 NOW and together we can seize that opportunity.
2 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
BE PART OF A HISTORIC COMMEMORATION ‘When we embarked on creating a First World War centenary cultural programme, we could not have imagined the extraordinary way the artists’ projects would capture the public imagination. Join us by supporting this unique programme to ensure future generations remember the role the First World War played in shaping the world we live in today’ Jenny Waldman, Director 14-18 NOW
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 3
Anya Gallaccio, Untitled Landscape 2014, SNAP Art at Aldeburgh Festival (photo: Owain Thomas). Balletboyz, Young Men, co-commissioned with Sadlers Wells. Steve Bell, 1914 Day by Day Cartoons, co-commissioned with the Cartoon Museum and BBC Radio 4. Billy Bragg, The Opening Act at the Leftfield Stage, Glastonbury.
4 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
So far over 19 million people have experienced a 14-18 NOW commission
Over 2 million young people aged 16-24 Selected 14-18 NOW co-commissions (left to right); Neil Bartlett and Kate Pullinger, LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER, (photo: Dom Agius); Richard Wentworth, If history could be folded, where would you put the crease? ; National Theatre Wales, Mametz (photo: Mark Douet); Royal De Luxe, Memories of August 1914, Liverpool; Balletboyz, Young Men, (photo: Mike Prior).
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 5
200 partners including 83 cultural and heritage organisations
78 new artworks in 77 locations across the UK
6 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
A SHARED EXPERIENCE 14-18 NOW is bringing together people from every community across the United Kingdom to reflect on the First World War
‘It brings everyone together. Generations, families, community, everybody’ Memories of August 1914, audience member
One million people watched Royal De Luxe’s Memories of August 1914 tell the story of the Liverpool Pals Battalions who volunteered to fight. Co-commissioned with Liverpool Council (photo: Liverpool City Council).
To mark the centenary of the beginning of the War, 14-18 NOW commissioned five artists. Top left clockwise: Bedwyr Williams (Bangor), Bob and Roberta Smith (Belfast), (not pictured) Ryoji Ikeda (London) and Jeremy Deller (LIGHTS OUT app), Nalini Malani (Edinburgh) in each of the UK’s nations to mark the moment.
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 9
19 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE ATTENDED OR PARTICIPATED IN 14-18 NOW PROJECTS In the summer of 2014, millions of people took up the invitation to reflect together upon the outbreak of a war that shaped the world we live in today. On 4th August, 16.7 million people and 1,000 public buildings took part in LIGHTS OUT, marking the centenary of the beginning of war.
Participation encompassed the spectrum of cultural life, from a plot line in The Archers, to the front page of The Sun. 14-18 NOW’s participative projects show that people want to take part in the shared experience of commemoration and prove the huge appetite for arts and heritage events in the UK.
BRINGING LOCAL COMMUNITIES TOGETHER Our 2014 projects engaged over 1,200 volunteers from disadvantaged young men in Derry-Londonderry, to older people in Edinburgh. In Cornwall, a one-day theatrical event was formed from workshops with local people, drawing on memories passed down through the generations.
‘We’re still struggling to get two of our gardeners out of character… it brought us an amazing sense of achievement’ Lost Gardens of Heligan, 100: The Day our World Changed
10 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE 14-18 NOW is involving young people and new audiences in a meaningful reflection on their First World War heritage
Letter writers at Womad Festival as part of Neil Bartlett and Kate Pullinger, LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER.
21,439 PEOPLE WROTE TO THE STATUE OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER INCLUDING 15,000 CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OLD
Our LIGHTS OUT project provided a new way of connecting with the centenary of the beginning of War. LIGHTS OUT was inspired by the statement made by Sir Edward Grey on the eve of WW1: ‘The lights are going out all over Europe. We will not see them lit again in our lifetimes’ (photo: Will Eckersley).
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 13
INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE Contemporary art in all its forms has an enormous capacity to engage people of all ages in commemorating the First World War. Few arts-led projects can match the levels of participation achieved by 14-18 NOW and 1.4 million people aged 16-24 participated in LIGHTS OUT. Our projects are giving everyone an opportunity to take an active role in their shared heritage, the arts and public life.
‘A modern way of bringing everyone together to commemorate the First World War’ LIGHTS OUT participant
We want as many people as possible to take part in this unprecedented cultural programme of commemoration. In 2016, our large scale programme in Northern English Cities will provide creative skills training for 70,000 people and a major participative projects, will bring thousands of individuals together in a spectacular commemoration of the Battle of the Somme. Learning and engagement programmes, as well as digital and gaming projects will ensure that as many people as possible are able to get involved and commemorate their shared First World War heritage.
14 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
COMMISSIONING WORLD CLASS ARTISTS Support 14-18 NOW and get an unparalleled insight into artistic practice and work
‘Not in our lifetime are we going to see this type of remembrance for the First World War again’ Spectra, audience member
Ryoji Ikeda’s spectra soared above London to mark 100 years since beginning of the First World War. A twenty-metre grid containing forty-nine searchlights, installed at Victoria Tower Gardens, it appeared unannounced in the sky at dusk on Monday 4th August 2014 and for seven nights was visible across the city between sunset and sunrise. Produced and presented by Artangel, co-commissioned with The Mayor of London (photo Jonathan Perugia).
5 MILLION PEOPLE SAW DAZZLE SHIP LONDON
Tobias Rehberger’s Dazzle Ship London moored at Victoria Embankment (photo: Chris Wainwright). Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Goethe-Institut London and Schroder Charity Trust. ‘Dazzle’, developed by British artists such as Norman Wilkinson is a style of ship camouflage used widely in the First World War, characterised by brilliant, glaring geometric patterns.
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 17
GREAT ARTISTS INSPIRE In 2014, 14-18 NOW brought the work of artists including Richard Wentworth, Jeremy Deller, Bedwyr Williams, Graham Fagen and Ryoji Ikeda to millions of people around the country. The former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion was among those to write to the Unknown Soldier. Colm Tóibín, Jeanette Winterson and Noviolet Bulawayo contributed their reflections to Lavinia Greenlaw’s 1914: Goodbye to All That. Our project ‘Dazzle Ships’ has seen Tobias Rehberger, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Sir Peter Blake create stunning ‘dazzle’ designs for ships in London and Liverpool and more great artists will continue to create Dazzle ships throughout the centenary.
‘A timely reminder of the role of art and design in the war effort and how the work of artists saved lives’ Dazzle Ships Artistic Assessor
14-18 NOW is providing artists and arts and heritage organisations with the opportunity to realise ambitious, public-facing projects. We are proud to be able to bring diverse works of art to people across the United Kingdom, to create a shared experience and deeper understanding of the First World War.
140 ARTISTS FROM 25 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TOOK PART IN 2014
18 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
CREATING A LEGACY
14-18 NOW is creating a body of work that will reverberate for the next 100 years
‘Weeping Window’ from the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ – poppies and original concept created by artist Paul Cummins and installation designed by Tom Piper – by Paul Cummins Ceramics Limited in conjunction with Historic Royal Palaces originally at HM Tower of London 2014. (Photo: Richard Lea-Hair). Supported by The Backstage Trust and Clore Duffield Foundation 14-18 NOW will take these installations around the UK before they are presented at the Imperial War Museums in 2018.
Carlos Cruz-Diez, Induction Chromatique à Double Fréquence pour l’Edmund Gardner Ship co-commissioned with Liverpool Biennial was the first time that next-door neighbours Tate Liverpool and the Mersey Maritime Museum had worked together, a partnership made possible by 14-18 NOW.
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 21
AN UNPARALELLED GLIMPSE OF CONTEMPORARY ATTITUDES TO WAR There may never be another opportunity to reflect upon the First World War on this scale. Many 14-18 NOW commissions will physically remain, such as the 21,439 Letters to the Statue of the Unknown Soldier at the British Library and the Poppies at Imperial War Museums. Performance works will enter the repertoire and over time, along with commissioned books and films, will become part of the fabric of our thoughts about the First World War.
‘It provided an exciting opportunity to build on our knowledge to deliver something at a much more ambitious scale’ 14-18 NOW partner organisation
14-18 NOW is the first programme of new arts commissions to mark a solemn national moment and we are creating new, innovative partnerships to help make arts and heritage organisations more sustainable. The independent evaluation of the programme shows people’s appetite for engaging in heritage through art. But perhaps the greatest legacy of the programme and those that support it will be held by the people across the UK who experience this unique commemoration, and that the many stories of the period are not forgotten.
470 members of the local community participated in the creation of 100: The Day Our World Changed, co-commissioned with Lost Gardens of Heligan in collaboration with Wildworks, attended by 5,000 people (photo: Ian Kingsnorth).
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 23
JOIN 14-18 NOW IN A COMMEMORATION THAT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN With your help, 14-18 NOW can continue to commission ambitious new works of art that capture the imaginations of people across the UK. Our first series of commissions in 2014 demonstrated the extraordinary interest of people of all ages to learn more about the First World War. Future commissions will not be possible without the support of individuals and organisations that share our vision of a wide-reaching programme that meets the public demand for new ways to commemorate their heritage now and for future generations. There are a number of ways to support 14-18 NOW as a whole, as well as specific artists, projects or aspects of the programme including projects focused on young people or local communities. To find out more about our plans and explore the different ways that you or your organisation can be part of this historic programme, please contact the 14-18 NOW Development Team by phone on 0207 091 3110 or email to support@1418now.org.uk
24 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions
PARTNERS
14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions / 25
FUNDERS
TEAM & BOARD
Principal Funders
Team
Board
Jenny Waldman Director
Vikki Heywood, CBE Chairman
Nigel Hinds Executive Producer
Ade Adepitan, MBE Alex Beard, CBE Bonnie Greer, OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead, CBE Diane Lees, CBE Rhoda Macdonald John Mathers Sir Anthony Seldon Jenny Waldman Jonathan Watkins
Katie Cross Head of Development
Supported by
Alice Boff Development Manager Sarah Goodfellow Producer Pak Ling Wan General Manager
Project Supporters
Majeeda Goodall Executive Assistant Development Advisory Group Jeremy Bennett Lord Black of Brentwood Clive Jones, CBE Gailen Krug Rhoda Macdonald David Potter Christophe Rust General Sir Richard Shirreff, KCB, CBE Jean-Michel Steg Sir Richard Trainor, KCB
14-18 NOW IWM, Lambeth Road London, SE1 6HZ
SCHRODER CHARITY TRUST
www.1418now.org.uk @1418NOW
Artistic Advisors Lavinia Greenlaw Ruth Mackenzie, CBE Michael Morris, MBE Tessa Ross, CBE Cian Smyth
14-18 NOW is an independent programme overseen by its own Board. 14-18 NOW has its office and financial systems hosted by Imperial War Museums and for legal purposes is part of IWM, thereby benefiting from IWM’s exempt charity status. All gifts and donations to 14-18 NOW are held in a restricted fund dedicated solely to 14-18 NOW activity and commissions.
26 / 14-18 NOW: the First World War Centenary Art Commissions