Gay artist to lose virginity in front of crowd of people for art Clayton Pettet, 19, to have sex for first time in front of 50-100 spectators Believes project will get rave reviews for challenging the idea of sexuality A student has sparked outrage by declaring his intentions to lose his virginity in front of a crowd - in the name of art. Clayton Pettet, 19, is to have gay sex for the first time in a gallery full of spectators for his 'Art School Stole My Virginity' project. Mr Pettet, who has not yet told his parents about his plan, believes the 'performance art project' will earn him rave reviews for challenging the idea of sexuality. Artist Clayton Pettet is planning to lose his virginity in front of a crowd of people for an art project The performance is set to take place in front of 50-100 people in a space in Hackney, East London. Mr Pettet and a friend will engage in safe sex and then ask the audience what they made of the performance. But the second-year student at Central Saint Martins art school has been accused of cheapening sex and art. He has been planning the event, which is set to take place on January 25, for three years. Mr Pettet said: 'The key thing about performance art is that it should only be performed once, and this is the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime performance. 'I've held on to my virginity for 19 years, and I'm not throwing it away lightly. Basically it's like I am losing the stigma around virginity. I want the audience to see if anything has changed between me and my partner. Since culturally we do hold quite a lot of value to the idea of virginity I have decided to use mine and the loss of it to create a piece that I think will stimulate interesting debate and questions regarding the subject. Mr Pettet, 19, has not yet told his parents about his project, which is set to take place in front of 50-100 people Mr Pettet (left) is a second-year student at Central Saint Martins art school, which is based in London He has told a tutors at the university, once attended by famed musicians Jarvis Cocker and M.I.A. But gay campaigners have criticised the decision to lose his virginity in public. The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement said the project is not art and cheapens the special relationship of sex between loving partners. Spokesperson Rev Sharon Ferguson said: 'I'm not quite sure how that's art. My view is that we believe that all sexuality is a gift from God. 'It's about what you do with it and how we use it is an expression of our love for God... As an art project in front of an audience, where is the love, respect and mutuality in that? Stunts like this cheapen our own sexual relationships.