Art & Exhibitions
With Art Night, London Finally Gets Its Own Nuit Blanche
Visitors will enjoy top contemporary art on a long summer night.
Visitors will enjoy top contemporary art on a long summer night.
Amah-Rose Abrams ShareShare This Article
On July 2, London will be transformed for one night only as Art Night takes over the center of the British capital.
Curated by Kathy Noble, artists including Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost, Linder, and Nina Beier will take over buildings surrounding the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). Participating artists will install works in these buildings, which will be open to the public from 6 pm in the evening until the early hours.
“Art Night builds on the ICA’s experiences of working in unusual locations with our Off-Site program and adds to its rich history of presenting ambitious cross-disciplinary work by leading artists,” said Gregory Muir director of the ICA in a statement. “We are delighted to be devising the program for the inaugural Art Night in the year of our 70th birthday.”
The location of the festival means that the works will be installed in some of London’s most spectacular buildings including the historic Two Temple Place, Southwark Cathedral, Somerset House, and the Brutalist building 180 Strand, which is currently under redevelopment.
The works on view will range from performance and installation to film. Linder will perform on the iconic Duke of York steps near the ICA with Christopher Shannon, composer Maxwell Stirling and The Fourth Choir.
Meanwhile, Joan Jonas and jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran will perform the piece Reanimation for the first time in the UK, and Celia Hempton will take over 180 Strand creating site-specific wall paintings.
“As the sun goes down, Londoners and visitors alike will be able to experience the city in a new way,” said curator Kathy Nobel via a statement. “They will see iconic landmarks in a new light, and have the chance to explore unexpected and often hidden locations,” she added.
Art Night is based on the successful Parisian event “Nuit Blanche” (White Night), which started in 2002 and now has iterations taking place in over 30 cities across the world, including Riga, Toronto, Melbourne, and Tokyo.
Tickets for London’s Art Night, which will take place on July 2, 2016 are free, but some events require booking.