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Mass participation in arts events is nothing new; the , which invites submissions from established and amateur artists, has been running since 1769, but the number of such events has exploded since social networking took off.

One small but touching example was the that gathered outside Tate Modern yesterday to mark the death of Tony Hart. Organised online, scores of Morphs appeared outside the gallery in a colourful celebration of Hart's legacy. I can't help but wonder what form the Take Hart Gallery would take in the digital age.

Photograph of the Morph flashmob by Pryere

A couple of major projects are currently gathering contributors. We spoke to Antony Gormley last week (see above) about his project for Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth, which will be recruiting participants to spend an hour far above the ground. Although the event takes place in London, the aim is to create a portrait of the UK as a whole by encouraging people from all over to apply, and the whole thing will be streamed online.

There's also an initiative by the Â鶹Éç and Charles Saatchi, entitled , to discover new artistic talent. Submissions of artworks from all disciplines (from painting to printmaking) will be gathered through a website, they will be shortlisted to 50 by panels of experts and then six finalists will be chosen by Charles Saatchi. These six will spend three months conceiving and working on a project with access to intensive tuition. The one judged to be the winner will show their piece at Saatchi's forthcoming exhibition at The Hermitage in St Petersburg.

Are you tempted to take part in either of these national art events? Are there any other arts projects along similar lines that have caught your eye? Do you think that such events are opening up the arts to a wider audience or that they distract from what trained artists are trying to do? Share your thoughts.

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