Saatchi's Your Gallery is worth a bit of time; it's a fun example of community-creation –– all artist-contributed content.

Now in association with The Guardian, the virtual gallery moves into a "real" space -- albeit the Guardian Newsroom. it's an intriguing development. Press release below.

jt

SAATCHI GALLERY NEWSLETTER:
NEW DEVELOPMENT - GUARDIAN READERS PICK YOUR GALLERY ARTISTS FOR EXHIBITION

Today, The Guardian announced that it is joining forces with The Saatchi Gallery to create the first reader-curated contemporary art show, featuring emerging new talent from across the globe. Your Gallery at The Guardian will take place from 24-28 October in the Guardian Newsroom.

The Guardian's Arts Editor, Melissa Denes, said: 'Our readers have strong opinions about art and this is their chance to express them, by curating an exhibition where they choose the content. Readers can vote for their favourite work from a selection of 30 contemporary artists nominated by our judging panel. Ten will be chosen for exhibit in October.'

The judges top 30 were chosen from 10,000 artists who are registered on the Saatchi website www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk 'Your Gallery' aims to provide a global platform for artists to exhibit their work to the international art community.

Rebecca Wilson from the Saatchi Gallery said: 'Your Gallery enables artists to present their work before a worldwide audience including dealers and collectors. By collaborating with the Guardian we hope to further enhance the profile of new artists and encourage readers to identify the best talent from around the globe.'

The judges are:
artists Marc Quinn and Cornelia Parker;
Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, co-director of the Gagosian gallery;
Tim Marlow, director of the White Cube and
broadcaster and Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones.

Their shortlist of 30 will be revealed in the Guardian's G2 supplement on 6th September. Readers can vote online at guardian.co.uk/yourgallery and by text voting: text GU ARTIST (first three letters of artist’s surname) to 82222, eg to vote Amy Russell, text GU ARTIST RUS, or to vote Randy Wray, text GU ARTIST WRA. You can vote for up to three artists.

To coincide with the launch G2 features an exclusive interview with Charles Saatchi where he discusses his passion for art and shares his fascination for the internet and online opportunities for artists and collectors. The work of the ten selected artists will appear in the Guardian Newsroom: Archive and Visitor Centre from Tuesday 24 October-Saturday 28 October.

Exhibition: Your Gallery @ The Guardian Dates: Tuesday 24 October-Sat 28 October 2006
Venue: The Guardian Newsroom and Archive
60 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3GA
Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 12 noon-4pm
Admission: Free

We hope that this collaboration is the start of a regular annual event and that similar Your Gallery curated exhibitions can take place around the world. And now that Video artists have got their own Your Gallery section we hope to create a similar scheme for video work.

© 2006 The Saatchi Gallery