Cultural Olympiad - The Boat Project

Just some of the 12000 wood donations received from the public.

Outside the hull

The Boat Project is a living archive of people's stories and lives, a 30ft vessel made from donated wooden items. From February to July 2011 the public donated their wood to the project but not just any old wood. Pencil or piano – exotic as Zebrawood or as familiar as pine every piece had a story behind it. Donations arrived in their thousands, from the highly personal to pieces of national importance. All of these donations have been used to build a state-of-the-art seafaring yacht.

The boat, named Collective Spirit is currently on a round of publicity visits to ports and harbours around the South East, including a trip inland to Milton Keynes in July. The Boat Project is one of 12 creative concepts taking place throughout the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad to celebrate London and 2012.