The American artist Spencer Tunick is coming to Manchester to photograph a mass gathering of naked volunteers - and SKV Communications has been appointed to handle the media interest.

Tunick, famed for his photographs of swathes of nude volunteers, has been commissioned by The Lowry to create a large-scale installation at the Salford Quays gallery.

The exhibition is part of The Lowry's tenth anniversary celebrations and to make it happen Tunick is now searching for 1000 volunteers to shed their clothes and inhibitions in Manchester and Salford on 1 and 2 May.

The resulting photos and film will be shown at The Lowry from June as part of the exhibition, Everyday People.

The Lowry is expecting "intense media interest" around the exhibition and has briefed Manchester's SKV to handle news and regional and event PR alongside visual arts PR specialist Catharine Braithwaite of Lethal Communications.

SKV associate director Richard Bond said: ”It’s fantastic to be working with The Lowry again. Media interest in nude subjects is always high, and Spencer Tunick attracts huge attention wherever he works.
 
“We are delighted The Lowry has selected us for our expertise in managing this project’s media requirements alongside our understanding of what is best for the artist and the work.”

Tunick is renowned for his landscape images of hundreds or even thousands of naked volunteers in urban landscapes in locations including Sydney, Montreal and Barcelona.

His work in Manchester and Salford will reference the paintings of LS Lowry and capture "everyday people" on the move - and in the nude.