Arts Council promotes 60th

The Arts Council England will launch its Art in Your Hand programme next week, with a series of travel wallets illustrated by artists including Tracey Emin and graphic design by Kerr Noble.

The project was commissioned as part of the Arts Council’s 60th anniversary celebrations. Plans for the programme started last year when the council asked urban planning consultancy General Public Agency to select a series of artists, musicians and performers that would best represent the diversity of arts in the UK. The Arts Council then commissioned Kerr Noble to assist with graphic design elements, including layout, print and typography.

A spokesman for the Arts Council said, ‘As well as celebrating the Arts Council’s 60th anniversary, the wallets are the public-facing element of the council’s research programme into the public perception and funding of the arts.’

The wallets – which can be used for London’s Oyster cards – will also be handed out to commuters at stations across Birmingham, Leeds, Brighton, Cambridge and Bristol. The artists featured include Tim Etchels, Liz Davis, Adam Sutherland, Michael Clarke and music producer Ty.