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London, UK: The One Million Masterpiece - The world's biggest and most ambitious collaborative art project

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How can you create a true snapshot of our global society, and sum up its diversity in one single picture? Simple. Gather one million people from all across the world, and get them to work on the picture together in the world's largest ever artistic collaboration - a collaboration where everyone is equal, where all outcomes are valid and in which nobody knows how the final image will look.

The One Million Masterpiece
The world's biggest and most ambitious collaborative art project

The One Million Masterpiece is the world's largest and most ambitious collaborative arts project. Launched on 14th July 2006, it promises to unite people from all cultures across the world.

The One Million Masterpiece is transforming the Internet into a global canvas by inviting one million people to become project artists, each creating their own individual image on the OMM canvas. Each image is placed alongside others, just like a mosaic, to form one huge unique picture. Anyone with access to the Internet can take part by visiting www.theonemillionmasterpiece.com.

The result will provide a unique snapshot of our world through the eyes of one million people. Once complete, the picture will be printed on a giant 80m canvas and unveiled in London as a symbol of global unity and a celebration of 21st century global culture and society.

As well as being a challenging artistic venture, The One Million Masterpiece is a non-profit initiative that aims to raise over £1 million for global humanitarian and environmental charities, including Save The Children, Oxfam, World Cancer Research Fund, ActionAid and WWF. This will be achieved through voluntary donations collected from generous project members.

Founder of the One Million Masterpiece, Paul Fisher, comments: "This project is about using the power of the internet to help people overcome language barriers and communicate in a universal tongue. A drawn picture gives an intimate insight into a person, revealing something about who they are and the experiences they've had. This picture will tell one million of these personal stories, highlighting both the diversity and similarity of people from around the world."

The One Million Masterpiece offers a unique chance for anyone with a computer to claim their place in the record books by becoming part of the OMM community. Currently, the world record for the largest number of artists contributing to one painting is 25,297. Thanks to the internet, the One Million Masterpiece will smash that record.

Paul added: "Nobody knows what will happen when one million people create a single work of art because nothing like it has ever been tried. Will the result be a crazy patchwork of individual images? Will some larger picture emerge from the chaos? It will be very interesting to find out!"

Participating artists can choose to make their picture fit in with the surrounding pieces or to make it stand alone, using a preview feature that shows your image within the context of its neighbours.

Furthermore, artists can change their image at any time if they do not feel happy with it. There is also a messaging function meaning artists can communicate with each other and comment on the vast number of pictures currently on the site.

Joining www.theonemillionmasterpiece.com is free, although participants can opt to give a secure donation to the charity fund.

Ends

Notes to editors:

For further information, please contact:

Darragh Ooi
Darragh@millionmasterpiece.com
07752251068

Paul Fisher
Paul@millionmasterpiece.com
07738910461

Key Facts

• The current official record for the most painters of one picture: The 14.63 m (48ft) long and 2.43 m (8 ft) high painting A Little Dab of Texas, designed by Jim Campbell of Brenham, Texas, USA, was painted by 25,297 people and was completed in 3 years, 7 months on June 14, 1998.

• The project expects to break the official World Record in Spring 2007

About the charities

Save the Children fights for children's rights. It delivers immediate and lasting improvements to children's lives worldwide.

Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice.

Working in 42 countries worldwide, ActionAid listens to, learns from and works in partnership with over ten million of the world's poorest people to provide access to safe, clean water, education, shelter and health care as well as tackling the injustice and inequality that condemns generations to a life of poverty.

World Cancer Research Fund's Global Network has a vision to prevent cancer worldwide. The network of organisations funds research into dietary patterns of different cultures and how they relate to development of various cancers throughout the world. World Cancer research Fund has spent over £11 million on research which shows that up to 40% of cancers can be prevented by following a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on earth.

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