Artangel: Art takes over the airwaves It will be his first time working with radio. What was "irresistible" about the job, he says, was the fact that his three minutes were "going to be bookended by unbelievably established programming." "Radio 4 is a part of most of our lives, and that's sort of an iconic slot just after the Today programme," he says. Most of the arts programming happens at night, and most of the avant garde sound takes place over on Radio 3. Radio 4 stands for a lot of the core ideas of the BBC. There's a certain kind of language that they use. He doesn't give much away, but when I ask if he listens to the Today programme, Wallinger's answer sounds suspiciously like a clue. I jump across radio stations a bit. I listen to the Today programme but sometimes I do think it's a bit obsessed with Parliament. While each piece may only be three minutes long, opening up the news and debate-dominated morning schedule to an artist is a significant gesture on Radio 4"s part. According to Artangel's co-founder Michael Morris, its collaboration with Radio 4 is part of a wider change led by the station's controller. "Gwyneth Williams wants Radio 4 to become a place where artists feel comfortable, not only to talk about their work but also to make work," he says. Providing a platform for challenging art is not new to Radio 4. What is new is the way in which it will be presented. Crucially, there won't be any introduction, so each artist's subversive sound will come on us as a surprise. The nine o'clock headlines will stop and, "You'll be into a kind of different world for three minutes," says Morris. These five little pieces are not documentaries. They are an expression of ideas within the form of morning radio. I want people to listen in a different way. Three minutes sounds a short time. But three minutes of silence, for example, can feel very long indeed. Or it can feel like our radios are broken - a slightly inconvenient way to start the day. But we're not having our habits rudely interrupted just for Art for Art's Sake. These five pieces are part of a national initiative. Ultimately Radio 4 is helping Artangel to scout out an exciting new artistic talent for their next collaborative project. Every seven years since 1999, Artangel puts out a call, titled Open, for artists from around the country to propose ideas for site-specific artworks. The previous one was in 2006 and Roger Hiorns's council flat filled with crystals was one of the results. Other noteworthy projects include Jeremy Deller's re-enactment of the Battle of Orgreave in South Yorkshire, and critically acclaimed British film The Arbor by Clio Barnard. More will be explained, and the artists" pieces replayed with interviews about the works, next Saturday morning.