Ref: PR1840
Date: 08/07/08

A unique national art project was launched in Wakefield with the backing of TV presenter and author Ian Clayton and Wakefield Wildcats stars.

The Holdahand Project is the brainchild of local artists Sam O'Brien and Dave Lewis and involves the distribution, decoration and collection of 64,000 hand sculptures.

The official launch on the Cathedral Precinct in Wakefield city centre featured a display of hundreds of the tiny hands which passers-by were encouraged to pick up and take away with them to decorate.

Sam said: "We were invited to Glastonbury just before the launch to spread the word about the project and the hands were really well received. We're both Wakefield artists so we wanted to launch the project in the city.

"We are asking people to be part of the biggest arts project of this kind in the UK. It is an urban and contemporary project that allows participants to be creative for a year, displaying their work on the holdahand website, youtube, facebook and myspace. They will then be asked to bring back their hand to an exhibition. This gives everyone the opportunity to create without feeling pressure to be artistically trained."

The two artists have already visited Wakefield Wildcats and given the team a presentation about the project and distributed hands for the players to decorate.

The Wildcats repaid the visit at the launch when general manager Francis Stephenson and player Sam Obst helped publicise the event along with mascot Daddy Cool. Also lending his support was Ian Clayton.

The hands were on display in the city centre and `hidden' waiting to be picked up at various places across Wakefield for three days. The artists will now start placing them across the country so that the project takes on national significance.

They have also been invited to several festivals this summer including Latitude, Magic Loungeabout, The Northern Green gathering, Lime Tree Festival, Solfest and the Pickering Folk Festival.

Anyone finding a hand should register it on the project website where there is more information about the venture and photographs - see related links.

ENDS