For one long rapturous night on 2 July, artists will wrest Westminster from the clutches of politicians, creating art from dusk till dawn in public spaces and very private ones, including a disused tube platform and a luxury apartment for millionaires.
Art Night, launched this week in Samuel Johnson’s former house off the Strand in the spirit of his stirring declaration, “whoever thinks of going to bed before 12 o’clock is a scoundrel”, aims to be an annual event, modelled on the nuits blanches (sleepless nights) that have become an institution in Paris.
The ghostly disused Jubilee line platform at Charing Cross underground station will be the realm of the South Korean artist Koo Jeong A, in a joint commission with Art on the Underground, while the UK premiere of Reanimation by artist Joan Jonas and jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran will take over Southwark Cathedral, the only Art Night venue on the other side of the Thames.
London’s First Art Night
July 2, 2016
Image: Koo Jeong A, installation view of Liverpool Biennial commissioned Everton Park Wheels Park, 2014-15. Courtesy of the artist and Pilar Corrias Gallery.