Art on the Underground

To its great credit over time Transport for London (TfL) has made great efforts to brighten up what would otherwise be bleak walls, with occasional signposts.  Its efforts have been imitated all over the world.

In a normal year around 1.3bn journeys are made on the London Underground.  In 2021 it was only 296m.  

In May 2023, Art on the Underground launches an ambitious, multifaceted commission with Turner-prize nominated artist Monster Chetwynd at Gloucester Road Tube station. The project comprises a 60-metre-long sculptural installation featuring three-dimensional creatures including frogs, salamanders, tortoises and tadpoles and a new film. Known for her joyous and irreverent artworks, Chetwynd takes as her starting point the engineering feat of the Crystal Palace, built in 1851, and its design by gardener turned architect Joseph Paxton.

Art on the Underground’s 2023 programme features major commissions situated across London including:

• Barby Asante will develop her seminal work ‘Declaration of Independence’, with a major performance in September 2023 at Stratford station.
• For his first international public commission, Italian-Ethiopian artist Jem Perucchini will create a new artwork for Brixton station in November 2023.
• American artist Sharon Hayes and British artist and photographer Joy Gregory will create new commissions for the pocket Tube Map.
• The launch of a series of artist-led collaborations with the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Community Spaces at Risk Team, bringing new audio works to the city. The first commission in the summer of 2023 will be with Shenece Oretha.
• Canadian-Korean artist Zadia Xa will create new work for Aldgate East Tube station in March 2023 which focuses on the mythologies of the Tube environment, in dialogue with her installation at the neighbouring The Whitechapel Gallery.

https://art.tfl.gov.uk

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