Arctic island heads West for 2012

The island will be made whole again at the end of 2012

Artist Alex Hartley has been awarded £500,000 by Arts Council England to bring part of an Arctic island he discovered to the South West in 2012.

He found Nymark island while on an expedition in the High Arctic in 2004.

The land mass is the size of a football pitch and was revealed from the melting ice of a retreating glacier.

Alex was the first human to set foot on Nymark and he now plans to tour a portion of the island around the South West coast for the Cultural Olympiad.

He'll work with the Bristol public art commissioning programme Situations, which is based at the University of the West of England, to bring the 'nowhereisland' project to fruition.

Hundreds of people have applied for citizenship

"nowhereisland will capture people's imagination, engaging local, national and international audiences," said Alex.

"The island addresses the most significant global issue of our time, namely how we can respond to the urgent issue of climate change together.

"This project embodies the spirit of international cooperation that is at the heart of the Olympic ideal."

A portion of the island will be transported through international waters in summer 2010. During the journey it will apply for 'micronation' status.

From July to October 2012 nowhereisland will navigate the 702-mile South West coastline, starting in Poole and ending in Bristol, visiting ports and harbours along the way.

It will be in Weymouth and Portland in July and August 2012 for the Olympic sailing events and at the end of the year, the island will return to the Arctic to be made whole again.

The project is multi-faceted: as well as being a piece of public art and raising awareness of climate change, people can apply for citizenship of nowhereisland.

Hundreds already have via the nowhereisalnd website - and the aim is to surpass the population total of the Vatican - the smallest country in the world with about 900 citizens - by 23 October 2009.

nowhereisland is one of 12 commissions across the country selected for Artists taking the lead, one of the major projects for the Cultural Olympiad.