The dark arts

Art Night used a variety of spaces across Westminster, such as Admiralty Arch and a disused platform at Charing Cross Underground Station, to stage a range of art installations and performances. The free festival opened at 5:00pm on 2 July and carried on late into the night.

Stand-out attractions included a video series by Cecilia Bengolea projected in Covent Garden’s East Piazza and a cultural fitness exercise created by Xu Zhen and performed by hundreds of participants at Somerset House.

Each year the festival will work with a different arts organisation in a different part of the city. The event in 2016 was created in collaboration with the ICA, while in 2017 it will take place in the East End under the guidance of the Whitechapel Gallery.

‘As the sun goes down, Londoners and visitors alike will be able to experience the city in a new way,’ says Art Night curator Kathy Noble. ‘They will see iconic landmarks in a new light, and have the chance to explore unexpected and often hidden locations.’