‘I’ve launched this crowdfunder as part of my ongoing art project and general raging against the crumbling of the public realm – SAVING PUBLIC TELEPHONY.

I totally get that set against the scale of human suffering, this does not deserve to be a priority but if you are interested, do read on.

Specifically, this is a campaign aiming to cover expenses of a trip this August from Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides to make 52 calls from a BT telephone kiosk for it to be retained by law for another year. 52 calls made within a one year period is enough to prevent BT from disconnecting a kiosk under OFCOM rules.

Ideally, I will try to make these calls from the last double-door K6 kiosk in the country with a connected phone line. If this doesn’t work out – you never know when BT might strike, or if it simply won’t be working properly – there are other kiosks on the island still connected.

If this all sounds daft, it is probably because it is, but it is underpinned by a genuine desire to make connections between disparate rural and coastal localities, have real conversations that aren’t mediated by a screen and of course the phone might actually be useful in an emergency!

From poring over the available BT removals proposals to identify those lucky few that escaped the cull and have been retained, presumably because somebody like me wrote a good enough email of complaint, I have identified kiosks at Breasclete, Outside Marvig Post Office, and In Lay-By B8060 as being in service. Cross-referencing this against a local council document which contained the phone numbers for these kiosks I have been able to establish that the lines are still connected.

I can’t offer any huge rewards, it is difficult to monetise a weird performance project like this and I’m not even going to try the Arts Council but you could think of it as a kind of rural touring theatre.

Why the Outer Hebrides? I have since 2017 been making work considering the ritual landscapes of the Atlantic seaboard, in particular West Cornwall where I live and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Lewis & Harris). The work considers these landscapes in their contemporary context and considers the weight given to some markers of heritage value over others. I think there’s a link between the stones and the phones!

Anyway, I’m a bit skint for an endeavour like this so every little helps. If you message me your number to my email address that you can find in the bio on my website or via Instagram @williamlawrencearnold, I’ll phone you up to say thanks.

If the phone is still working when I get there…

There is a risk this project could fail for various reasons outside of my control but I’ll be giving it my best shot.’