The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, hid copies of Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 around London along with the Book Faeries on Friday, May 8th. The Book Fairies are a global organization that hides books all around the world for the joy of discovering them. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the photo book was born of a project devoted to mental health.
We've been following the evolution of this project since its beginning. Residents of the UK were invited to submit photos of their experiences with the coronavirus pandemic. The response was fantastic and overwhelming. An excerpt from an Observer.com article is below.
“Duchess Kate, an avid photographer herself, first launched the photo project last year. She worked with the National Portrait Gallery (she’s the royal patron) and asked people from all over the U.K. to submit a portrait depicting their lives amid the coronavirus pandemic. The response was huge, as Kate and a panel of judges received over 31,000 submissions.
The final 100 selected images were displayed via a digital exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and then in March this year, it was announced that the project, with the 100 final photos, was being turned into a special coffee table book, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020, with a foreword written by the Duchess of Cambridge herself.”
Source: The Obesrver.com
Participants including the judging panel had the opportunity to hide copies as well. What a great way to launch a new book! The net proceeds of Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 will go to National Portrait Gallery and Mind, a UK-based mental health awareness charity.
Watch videos from the event and follow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Instagram account for more public art projects.
