breakout exhibition self portraits

Come on Islanders – Share your self-portrait and help Quay Arts break another Guinness World Record

Quay Arts are now collecting all physical copies of your self-portraits, ready to be displayed at Quay Arts as part of the Breakout Exhibition.

They’d like to collect as many self-portraits as possible by Friday 31st July.

Guinness Record as largest collection of self-portraits ever
In 2000 Quay Arts organised an ambitious project to fill the building with self-portraits of a generation of children. 

As with many things they’ve done over the years, it started small (with a 10x10cm template), but as schools got on board and drawings, paintings and prints flooded in, it grew to such an extent that the resulting exhibition, My Millennium, ended up in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest collection of self-portraits ever – 13,626!

Let’s break another record
In 2020 Quay Arts are inviting every Islander – of any age – submit a self-portrait, in any medium, the only restriction being that it must be 10cm x 10cm, as the original portraits were.

Quay Arts want to make the Breakout! Exhibition bigger and better than before, so they need YOU!

They’re also asking you to tell them ‘What’s at the end of your rainbow?’ – send a few words to say what Breakout! means to you.

£20,000 target
As a self-financed charity, Quay Arts relies on income from trading activities to bring the arts to Islanders and have set ourselves a target of raising £20,000 so that they can still be here for us all after the impact of lockdown.

They’re asking for a donation of £1 from every person or household that takes part. If you can’t donate, they’d like you to enter anyway, just for the fun of it.

So far they have had some incredible portraits submitted, and can’t wait to see even more.

How to share your self-portrait
You can post it to:

Quay Arts, 15 Sea Street, Newport Harbour, Isle of Wight PO30 5BD

If you haven’t already submitted your portrait online, you can post/drop-off your self-portrait straight to Quay Arts.

All they ask is that you include your answer to the question, ‘what’s at the end of your rainbow?’ on the back of your portrait.

Drop it off in person
Now that Quay Arts has re-opened they’ve set up a new station where you can drop off your Breakout! self portraits.

If you have already submitted your portrait online, they’d now love to collect the physical copies.

For more information please go to the Website.