LONDON.- A housewife from Sleaford, a nurse from Brighton, and a Sri Lankan student from London will all take their places on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square on Monday 6th July.

Rachel Wardell, a 35 year-old housewife from Sleaford in the East Midlands will be the first participant on the plinth for Antony Gormley’s One & Other it was announced today, Thursday 2 July 2009. Rachel will take her place on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square at exactly 9am on Monday 6th July and remain there for one hour.

Rachel will be followed at 10am by Jason Clark, a 41 year old a nurse from Brighton. Other plinthers on the first day include Jill Gatcum, a 51-year-old consultant from London, Suren Seneviratne, a 22 year-old Sri Lankan student and artist, and Ishvinder Singh Matharu, a 31-year-old optometrist from Chigwell.

The project, which is commissioned by the Mayor of London and produced in partnership with Sky Arts will see a different person take their place on the Fourth Plinth every hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days and will commence on Monday 6th July at 9.00am.

Open to everyone over the age of 16, One & Other has received 14,500 applications to date from all over the country and from people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures, Drawn from as far afield as Coleraine, N.Ireland to the Norfolk coast, and Paisley in Scotland to the West country, July’s 615 participants are aged from 16 to 83, and also include a wheelchair-bound pensioner from Oxford, an aquatic scientist from Birmingham, and a English teacher from London for whom Trafalgar Square holds a special place in her heart.

Commenting on being chosen Rachel Wardell said: “I am a stay-at-home mum with 2 young children. I have no great involvement in the Arts but felt moved to get involved with this project for several reasons. I like the idea of the Arts as inclusive rather than exclusive and feel like this is something that Antony Gormley, and this project in particular, embrace. I wanted to be able to represent normal, everyday stay-at-home mums who aren't normally a feature of major artworks - to show my kids now, and when they're older, that you can do, and be part of anything, no matter how ordinary you are or feel. I never expected to get a place so hadn't thought about what to do and I never expected to be first. I don't want to say anything about me, but what is important to me is children. That's why I want to raise awareness of the NSPCC”.

As part of the Sky Arts Artichoke Season, Sky Arts will play a crucial role in One & Other, broadcasting all the live action from the Fourth Plinth, twenty four hours a day over the whole project, on the One & Other website: www.oneandother.co.uk. Sky Arts will go live from the plinth on 6th July from 8.15am on Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 1, with host Clive Anderson bringing viewers live coverage in the lead up to the first person stepping onto the plinth.

A weekly show, live from the plinth, offering the highlights of that week, will then go out on Fridays at 7pm from 10th July on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 1 HD.

Altogether 2,400 participants will be chosen at random by computer algorithm. The population of the UK will be represented proportionally by choosing a certain number of people from each region. Participants can use their time on the plinth as they like – to perform, to demonstrate, or simply to reflect.

Applications remain open until 1 September and places for the plinth will be allocated in a further two phases. Applicants who have been unsuccessful will remain in the draw for the remaining phases. The next draw will be on 1 August for places in September.