London Sculpture Week

Dal 2022 nella capitale inglese si realizza la London Sculpture Week, alla sua terza edizione che  si svolge dal 21 al 29 settembre, l'evento unisce quattro importanti iniziative culturali: Frieze Sculpture, Fourth Plinth, Sculpture in the City e The Line, per rinvigorire gli spazi pubblici della città e mettere in luce il potere trasformativo dell'arte pubblica in città.

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The week’s programme will feature accessible public art tours, family-friendly workshops, and live artist performances, showcasing how art can inspire thought and enrich the city’s environment. London Sculpture Week remains a testament to the value of public art in daily life, fostering connections between people and their surroundings, and deepening appreciation for art’s role in the public sphere, reflecting London’s rich cultural landscape.

Frieze Sculpture, a cornerstone of London Sculpture Week, will return to The Regent’s Park from 18 September to 27 October. Curated by Fatoş Üstek, the much-celebrated public art initiative sees 22 artists and 27 works, of which 18 are new, sited throughout the Park’s historic English Gardens. The expanded 2024 edition includes an intergenerational group of artists from around the globe, with a strong presence from women and nonbinary artists: Ashwini Bhat, Anna Boghiguian, Leonora Carrington, Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Theresa Chromati, Céline Condorelli, İnci Eviner, Frances Goodman, Libby Heaney, Zanele Muholi, Nika Neelova, Fani Parali, Zizipho Poswa and Kirstine Roepstorff, joined by Nathan Coley, FOS, Theaster Gates, Albano Hernández, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Hans Josephsohn, Yoshitomo Nara and Woody De Othello. 

Frieze Sculpture coincides with Frieze London and Frieze Masters which take place concurrently in The Regent’s Park, 9 to 13 October 2024.

This London Sculpture Week brings together two Mayor of London initiatives. The Fourth Plinth and East Bank’s public realm commissions spanning central and East London. In Trafalgar Square, you will find Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant) by Teresa Margolles. The sculpture is made up of plaster casts of the faces of hundreds of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people from across the UK and Mexico. These casts were created by applying plaster directly onto people’s faces meaning that as well as recording their features the plaster is infused with their hair and skin cells. The work stands for the rights of trans communities worldwide.

In East London, visitors can enjoy three public art commissions across East Bank. Meringue by Michael Landy will be installed along the waterfront and celebrates traditional and newly invented Cockney Rhyming Slang in a series of large fluorescent signs. Lubna Chowdhary’s Temporal Trace, inspired by the South Indian ritual of “Kolam”, is a large-scale permanent drawing of fluid lines and dots across the waterfront. Artist duo A.A. Murakami, have created the sculpture In Mountains Shadow, composed of overlapping mesh screens designed to slow the wind.

Sculpture in the City is an annual sculpture park set amidst the iconic architecture of the City of London. The 13th edition is running from 24 July 2024 until Spring 2025 and comprises 17 artworks, including ten new sculptures by Samuel Ross, Richard Mackness, Ida Ekblad, Julian Opie, Clare Burnett, Seph Li, Maya Rose Edwards, Hilary Jack, and Daniel Silver, as well as five works retained from previous editions, and two permanent acquisitions. In addition to the artworks on display, Sculpture in the City offers a free activation programme supported by EC BID and curated & produced by Lacuna with a diverse range of events, as well as an award-winning educational programme. During London Sculpture Week, Sculpture in the City will offer free guided tours, a BSL guided tour, an Art on the Skyline: Cocktail & Create workshop with artist Seph Li, and Freshers Takeover Performative Tours & Talks with London Metropolitan University Student: Mrs Blues. There is also an opportunity for children and their grown-ups to collect the free printed Family Trail Map from 22 Bishopsgate’s lobby or download it online and follow two friendly dragons to find the sculptures set loose in the City of London.

The Line is a free public art trail in East London, stretching from Greenwich Peninsula to East Bank, following the waterways and line of the Greenwich Meridian. Its outdoor exhibition programme features 26 art installations by leading international artists such as Helen Cammock, Yinka Ilori and Tracey Emin. As part of London Sculpture Week, The Line is hosting a day of free performances of Rasheed Araeen’s Discosailing: A Ballet on Water and running free BSL tours. The Line is also curating the inaugural London Sculpture Week Symposium: New Approaches to Sculpture Outdoors at London Metropolitan University on the evening of Wednesday 25th September.

London Sculpture Week Official Digital Guide: Bloomberg Connects  Visit bloombergconnects.org/6Ggw/qpr4jafs

Fatoş Üstek, Curator of Frieze Sculpture, said: “By bringing together four of London’s leading cultural initiatives, London Sculpture Week highlights the importance of public art in enriching urban spaces, fostering dialogue, and connecting communities through shared cultural experiences. At Frieze Sculpture, we are thrilled to build on last year's offering with an expanded programme of public tours and performances, presenting the opportunity to broaden curatorial frameworks and artistic perspectives”.

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “London Sculpture Week is a wonderful highlight of London’s creative calendar. It transforms London’s parks and streets into an art gallery providing Londoners and visitors access to an incredible array of free public art and sculpture. From big names to emerging artists, there will be new installations across the city to excite and delight, as we build a better London for everyone.”

Stella Ioannou, Artistic Director of Sculpture in the City, and Founding Director of Lacuna, said: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with London Sculpture Week for a third year. Public sculpture enriches our urban landscape, and our shared mission remains to make public art, and contemporary sculpture in particular, accessible, encouraging engagement and inspiration. During London Sculpture Week, Sculpture in the City will add to the wider programme with events including free guided tours, a cocktail and create workshop, and tours led by university students. Each project is unique and London Sculpture Week provides a wonderful opportunity to discover London through the lens of public art..”
Megan Piper, Co-Founder and Director of The Line, said: “London Sculpture Week is growing in ambition year-on-year and it’s wonderful to play a part in it. Programming throughout the week shines a spotlight on the capital’s public realm and highlights the quality of work that is accessible for everyone in the city to enjoy. The Line will be hosting various events across London Sculpture Week from Rasheed Araeeen’s participatory art Discosailing: A Ballet on Water, through to free guided art tours of The Line.” 

2024 PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS:

Sat 21 September
The Line: Youth-led Guided Tour: Stratford – House Mill – Cody Dock, 11.00am - 1.00pm
Sculpture in the City: Guided Tour of the 13th Edition, 3.00pm - 4.30pm
Frieze Sculpture: Night Walks Led by Fatoş Üstek, 7.45pm, 8.45pm

Sun 22 September
Frieze Sculpture: 2112: Earth School by Kirstine Roepstorff, 11.00am - 11.55am
Frieze Sculpture: Fatoş Üstek Curator Tour for Public 12:00 - 13:00pm
Frieze Sculpture: Project 88: Bell Ringing by Ashwini Bhat, 12.00pm 
Sculpture in the City: Guided Tour of the 13th Edition, 11.30am - 1.00pm
The Line: British Sign Language Guided Tour,  North Greenwich, 11.00am - 12.00pm

 Mon 23 September
Sculpture in the City: Guided Tour of the 13th Edition, 12.00pm - 1.30pm

Wed 25 September
Sculpture in the City: Guided Tour of the 13th Edition, 12.00pm - 1.30pm
London Sculpture Week Symposium: New Approaches to Sculpture Outdoors, London Metropolitan University, 6.00pm - 8.30pm

Thu 26 September 
Sculpture in the City: Guided Tour of the 13th Edition with Artistic Director Stella Ioannou, 12.00pm - 1.30pm

Fri 27 September
The Line: Discosailing: A Ballet on Water by Rasheed Araeen, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Every 30 minutes 12.30pm - 5.30pm
Sculpture in the City: Art on the Skyline: Cocktail & Create with Artist Seph Li, 5.00pm - 7.00pm

Sat 28 September 
Sculpture in the City: British Sign Language Guided Tour of the 13th Edition with Deaf Architect & Art Guide Martin Glover, 11.00am - 1.00pm
Sculpture in the City: Freshers Takeover Performative Tours & Talks with London Metropolitan University Student: Mrs Blues, 3.00pm - 5.30pm

Sun 29 September
Frieze Sculpture: 2112: Earth School by Kirstine Roepstorff, 11.00am - 11.55am
Frieze Sculpture: Project 88: Bell Ringing by Ashwini Bhat, 12pm 
Frieze Sculpture: Cooke Latham Gallery: AONYX and DREPAN by Fani Parali, 1.00pm, 3.00pm, 5.00pm
Sculpture in the City: Freshers Takeover Performative Tours & Talks with London Metropolitan University Student: Mrs Blues, 1.30pm - 4.00pm

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