Prominent Artists Reinterpret London's Iconic Telephone Box
Spencer Nelson

New York City had its cows; London will have its booths.

As recognizable as the city’s buses, London’s trademark red phone booths may have lost their use but not their place in the city’s heart. BT, formerly British Telecom, has arranged BT ArtBox: commemorating the cultural icon that is the London phone booth.

An ironic twist on Banksy’s two anti-corporate plays on the booth (LA and London version), BT has commissioned eighty artists to create their own versions of the famous “telephone box.” Prominent names such as Sir Peter Blake, designer of the famed St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band album sleeve and so-called godfather of British pop art, and Dame Zaha Hadid, a two time Stirling Prize winner and innovative architect, unveiled their own booths on London’s streets.

Proportional_620_proportional_620_david_20crow_20connected
David Crow, Connected

The “boxes” will be auctioned for charity but currently grace London. For those looking to catch them all, BT has kindly provided a map. This newest incarnation of urban art will remind New Yorkers of the cows that visited the city some years ago.