London Art After Dark

Inspired by the city’s club culture, the programme brings together large-scale public artworks, late-night gallery openings and music experiences across the West End. Since its launch in 2021, its programme has included striking illuminated art in Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus transformed into a serene night garden, a film from performance artist Marina Abramović in partnership with The Royal Academy on the Piccadilly Lights, and Chila Burman’s glowing installation which was inspired by London’s history and diverse communities

Channelling the energy and spectacle of a live music festival, internationally acclaimed London based artist Lakwena Maciver (Tate Britain, Southbank Centre, Somerset House) will headline and launch the programme with her landmark public artwork, Rise and Shine, a 7-metre-tall tower of stacked disco light-boxes, in Piccadilly Circus.

Installed at one of the West End’s most recognisable landmarks, the soaring artwork re-imagines the site’s analogue heritage through kaleidoscopic colour and a soundtrack inspired by community music culture. Its acid-bright visuals and illuminated forms reference the nightlife of the 1980s and 1990s, a period that influenced music genres from hip-hop to drum and bass.

Art After Dark will also animate the West End with a programme of late-night events, including a special one-off after-hours DJ event at The National Gallery on 5 February with live DJ set inside the Gallery after closing time, offering a rare chance to dance after dark with friends in one of London’s most iconic cultural institutions.

Tickets available for ‘Art After Dark – The Afterparty at The National Gallery’ via The National Gallery website here.

Throughout the week, the West End will host late-night gallery openings, bookable art tours via Art of London Gallery HOP!, special offers and live performances at local bars and nightclubs, including the Hard Rock Café, The London Reign Showclub, BOX Piccadilly, and Haymarket Hotel, and an exclusive Q&A with Lakwena, in partnership with Apple.

There’s some more sound and light to experiences at St Martin-in-the-Fields with their Space by Luxmuralis