London’s Art Night 2019 promises to be star-studded

The dusk-till-dawn festival gears up for another all-nighter this June

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Cos store at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, London
(Image credit: Cathy Buckmaster)

Art Night, London’s nocturnal contemporary art festival, today announces details of its curated programme. A selection of 12 artists will present commissions in locations around Walthamstow (the Mayor's first London Borough of Culture) and King’s Cross on the evening of 22 June 2019.

Curated by the festival’s artistic director Helen Nisbet, the roster of artists is exciting with a focus on performance, installation, and multi-sensory experiences. Of particular note, conceptual collagist Barbara Kruger will present her first large-scale outdoor commission in 15 years in the UK in Walthamstow’s Town Square, questioning themes of consumerism and individual autonomy.

Elsewhere, American sound artist Christine Sun Kim will transform Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross with a three-part commission, including a durational sound piece at the yard's new arts-focused COS space, exploring how experiences of deafness shape understandings of language and culture.

British duo Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings will also present a ‘musical spectacle’ travelling through Walthamstow Market, conflating various genres into a single performance on a Pride float. Work by Alice Theobald, Frances Stark, Zadie Xa, Shiraz Bayjoo, Emma Talbot, Cory Arcangel, Joe Namy and Oscar Murillo rounds out the high-energy programme.

Each year, the festival brings art to unlikely locations – markets, pubs, shopping malls, alleyways – and aims to reach the broadest possible audience. Do Ho Suh’s compelling photographic installation, in Christ Church on Shoreditch's Commercial Street, was a memorable example of art reaching outside of traditional contexts from the 2017 festival, alongside a surreal open-air silent disco at Exchange Square.

The fourth iteration is set to continue the legacy established by previous editions, with new commissions dotted around unconventional spaces, including St Mary’s Church Walthamstow, a 1930s listed cinema, and a car park. In these one-night-only galleries, expect a diverse mix of patrons, excited to see work in new, moonlit contexts – with queues bursting out into the streets.

Untitled (Blind Idealism Is…), 2016, by Barbara Krueger

Untitled (Blind Idealism Is…), 2016, by Barbara Kruger, installation view at the High Line, New York. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line

(Image credit: Timothy Schenck)

The Institute of Reconciliation, 2017, by Oscar Murillo

The Institute of Reconciliation, 2017, by Oscar Murillo, installation view at The Showroom, London.

(Image credit: Daniel Brooke)

Politique des Races, Pt 1, 2019, by Shiraz Bayjoo

Politique des Races, Pt 1, 2019, by Shiraz Bayjoo, New Art Exchange, Nottingham.

(Image credit: Reece Shaw)

INFORMATION

Art Night 2019, supported by Phillips auction house, will run from 5pm on 22 June 2019. For more information, visit the website

Elly Parsons

Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.