Tate Modern Hosts Public Art Project With Damien Hirst in Covent Garden

Damien Hirst, one of the UK’s most celebrated artists, will be hosting a public art event in Covent Garden on the 14 June. The event, in collaboration with Tate Modern, will give British school children and a select few of the public the chance to create their own unique version of Hirst’s iconic spin paintings in Covent Garden’s historic Piazza.

Spin painting are made by rotating a canvas on a flat turntable while brightly coloured paints are poured onto it from above. Hirst first began experimenting with spin painting in the early 1990s, creating works which he describes as “full of life, colour and optimism”.

In celebration of Hirst’s current exhibition at Tate Modern, sixty-four lucky school children have won the chance to create bespoke spin paintings using this technique. Students from Covent Garden’s local schools, St Josef’s and Clement Danes, will also have the opportunity to take part in this unique event in their neighbourhood. In addition, limited places will be available in the afternoon on a first-come, first-served basis to members of the general public, so that even more people will have the chance to get in on the action and create their own masterpiece.

The initiative is in aid of children’s charity Kids Company, which works to support London’s most vulnerable children with practical, emotional and educational support. Kids Company founder Camilla Batmanghelidjh will also join Hirst at 10am that morning to collaborate on a completely new spin painting, which will be auctioned at a later date to raise essential funds for Kids Company.

As the cultural hot spot in the West End, this is Covent Garden’s second major collaboration with Tate Modern, following Jeff Koons’ epic Bunny installation in 2010. A distinguished roll call of artists and designers have exhibited in Covent Garden Piazza including Koons and Banksy, and most recently all the artists involved in The Faberge Big Egg Hunt.

Hirst, widely regarded as one the most important artists working today, is currently the focus of his first major UK survey exhibition at Tate Modern until 9th September. The exhibition features over 70 of his seminal works including paintings from the spot, spin, butterfly and fly series alongside key sculptures and installations from over 20 years of his inventive practice.

Of the event Damien Hirst said: “Spin paintings are a massive explosion of energy - full of life, colour and optimism - and all children are artists, so it's great to be getting all these kids together in Covent Garden to make them. Kids Company is involved and I've been a huge fan and supporter of them for 5 years because of the importance and positivity that they place on the art therapy work they do with so many children.”

An exhibition of the student’s work and Hirst's new work will be on display from June 18th to July 2nd in the Covent Garden Market Building’s South Hall.