2 Jul 2016
Art Night is a new annual contemporary arts festival that transforms London for one summer night. From The Duke of York Steps at the ICA, via Admiralty Arch, the disused Jubilee line platform in Charing Cross Underground station, and a luxury flat on the Strand, ten buildings and public spaces form the stage for a series of site-specific projects, installations and performances.
Festivals have played a unique role historically as a site for artistic experimentation, outside the formal setting of the gallery or museum – ranging from the street theatre of the Renaissance, Bauhaus festivals in the early twentieth century that combined music, theatre, dance and design, and happenings in the 1960s and 70s. Art Night builds on this rich history of experimentation by combining unusual spaces with artistic experimentation.
Ten international artists' projects, including six new site-specific commissions, feature in a cross-disciplinary programme of art, architecture, dance, design and music – forming a unique trail across central London, from 5pm until the early hours.
Art Night is inspired by Nuit Blanche, an all-night arts festival created in Paris in 2002. The festival is conceived and organised by Unlimited Productions who, each year, will invite an institution and curator to work in a different area of London. The first edition is curated by the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) with curator Kathy Noble.
In 2017, Art Night will focus on the East End in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery.
The festival is generously supported by international auction house PHILLIPS. The festival is also made possible thanks to the support of Arts Council England.
For queries concerning your booking, please contact the ICA Box Office on 020 7930 3647 or sales@ica.org.uk. For general information about the festival and the programme please contact hello@artnight.london
Learn more about Art Night venues, including information on accessibility and transport