The London Phone Booths Are All Dressed Up & Artsy for the #Olympics #London2012 #BTartbox

(Above: Giles Deacon - named Best New Designer at the British Fashion Awards (2004): I took an illustration I had drawn on my iPad, which was then emailed to the studio and re-appropriated to a giant scale to fit the size of the box)

Few items are universally recognised as iconically British as the red K-6 telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and introduced in 1936 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V.  

(Chatterbox- Flowers and butterflies frolic by Nina Campbell: delves into the archive for heritage print, innovative fabric and wallpaper designs)

 (Proud of their London heritage, Accessorize's trademark Union Jack design - customized and embellished in true Accessorize fashion)

Ubiquitous and indispensable during the pre-mobile phone era, these kiosks have now become the stars of a London wide art installation.  To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the charity ChildLine, BT has sponsored the BT ArtBox project where 40 leading British and  international artists, including Simeen Farhat (above), have been invited to re-style this much-loved icon of British design.  

Farhat has applied her own equally iconic style to a kiosk, named by her as “Out of the Box”, and now displayed on Baker Street. She has deconstructed certain words to show the kiosk’s exposure to people in one of the most creative, diverse, multicultural and dynamic cities in the world.  Farhat has selected words, in the form of cast red dyed polymer resin, from philosophers and poets including Byron, Fitzgerald, Nietzsche, Pushkin, Li Bai, Rumi and  Omar Khayyam, to wrap the K-6 kiosk as a three dimensional installation of these words. “Out of the Box” is being presented by Matalan.  

  (The Harvey Nichols Phone Booth)

   (Steven Appleby - Do Not open - A portal to another person in another, perhaps very distant, place, Steven Appleby's ArtBox is a surreal comment on distance, space and time)

The BT ArtBoxes are on display in high-profile locations around the capital this summer. The project is being run in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, which hosted a VIP gala auction of the ArtBoxes on July 18 to raise money for Child Line, marking it’s 25th anniversary.

Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery and patron of the BT ArtBox project, has said: “The Gilbert Scott telephone box is a truly iconic British design, and I’m looking forwards to seeing how artists and designers transform the replica boxes into works of art on London’s streets.”   

    (Colour Wash: Rob Nick Carter's ArtBox is an illumintated spectrum of multicolours It creates a nice space It seems airy, and reminiscent of stained glass windows)

 (Dial M for Monster is a cosy handcrafted creature created from around 100 balls of yarn - Lauren O'Farrell)

Esther Rantzen OBE, founder of ChildLine and patron of the BT ArtBox project, has said: “I’m thrilled that ChildLine’s 25th birthday is to be celebrated by such a unique and inspiring project as BT Artbox.  “The red phone box is a much loved symbol of British culture and I’m keen to see how the artists involved will create new masterpieces from such an iconic canvas. It’s fantastic that the proceeds from the sale of the boxes will raise vital funds to support the work of ChildLine, enabling us to help many more children and young people to get comfort, advice and protection when they need it most.” 


Excerpt Via Xerxes

 (Left: Benjamin Shine - A leather bound and studded sofa)  

(Right: Philip Treacy has designed hats for Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan