> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://serenademagazine.art/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # London Becomes an Open-Air Gallery as London Sculpture Week Returns in 2026 - URL: https://serenademagazine.art/london-becomes-an-open-air-gallery-as-london-sculpture-week-returns-in-2026/ - Published: 2026-08-20T14:22:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-20T14:22:14.000Z - Description: London Sculpture Week returns from 19 to 27 September 2026, transforming the capital into an open-air gallery with major sculpture exhibitions, public art trails, guided tours and events exploring the evolving role of sculpture in the city. - Author: Serenade Team - Tags: News For nine days this September, London will become one of the world's largest open-air galleries as **London Sculpture Week** returns for its fifth edition. From 19 to 27 September, the city-wide programme will bring together the Fourth Plinth, Frieze Sculpture, East Bank, Sculpture in the City and The Line, offering audiences an opportunity to encounter contemporary sculpture in parks, squares, waterways and some of the capital's most recognisable public spaces. With a programme of free and ticketed events, London Sculpture Week brings together major international artists, curators and public art organisations while asking a deceptively simple question: what happens when sculpture becomes part of everyday life? Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, describes the programme as an opportunity to turn London's public spaces into “vast, free open-air art galleries for everyone to enjoy”, adding that sculpture allows people to “look with fresh eyes and discover the art that is all around us”. That idea sits at the heart of London Sculpture Week. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Tschabalala-Self--Maquette-of-Lady-in-Blue--2024.-Photo-GLA--James-O-Jenkins.JPG) Tschabalala Self, **Lady in Blue* (2026), patinated bronze, paint, stainless steel and glass, 5.27 × 2.09 × 3.42m, Trafalgar Square, WC2 5DN. ## A new landmark for Trafalgar Square One of the most anticipated works arrives on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square on 10 September, just ahead of London Sculpture Week. **Lady in Blue (2026)** by New York-based artist **Tschabalala Self** will become the 16th artwork commissioned for the celebrated plinth, remaining in place until summer 2028. Self's monumental bronze figure is conceived as a contemporary “everywoman”, bringing a distinctly modern presence to one of London's most historically charged public spaces. The figure wears a vibrant blue dress, while her accessories reference lapis lazuli, the intensely prized blue pigment that has been used by artists for centuries. The work continues the remarkable transformation of the Fourth Plinth itself. Originally intended to support an equestrian statue that was never realised, the empty plinth has become an international platform for contemporary artists, placing new works directly within the historical and political landscape of central London. The result is a form of public art that cannot be separated from its surroundings. The sculptures are encountered not only by visitors who have deliberately sought out contemporary art, but by commuters, tourists, residents and passers-by. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Ivana-Ba--i----Metanoia--2025.-Image-courtesy-the-artist-and-Albion-Jeune.jpg) Ivana Bašić, **Metanoia* (2025), Albion Jeune (London), English Gardens, The Regent’s Park, NW1 4LL. Photo: Image courtesy the artist and Albion Jeune. ## Frieze Sculpture brings contemporary art into Regent's Park At The Regent's Park, **Frieze Sculpture** returns from 16 September to 1 November with its 14th edition, extending the reach of the Frieze programme beyond the traditional art fair environment. Curated by Fatoş Üstek, this year's exhibition brings together 11 international artists whose works explore the theme of **hybridity**. The participating artists include Carolina Aguirre, Ivana Bašić, Matyáš Chochola, Özlem Günyol and Mustafa Kunt, Elena Nemkova, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Angel Otero, Catriona Robertson, Tarini Sethi, Conrad Shawcross and Douglas White. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Catriona-Robertson--WYRM--2026.-Photo-Saatchi-Gallery-Garden--RHS-Chelsea-Flower-Show.-Photography-Stephen-Studd.-Courtesy-of-the-artist-and-The-Muse-Gallery.jpg) Catriona Robertson, **WYRM* (2026), The Muse Gallery (London), English Gardens, The Regent’s Park, NW1 4LL. Photo: Stephen Studd, Saatchi Gallery Garden, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, courtesy of the artist and The Muse Gallery. Installed throughout the English Gardens, the works create a dialogue between contemporary sculpture and one of London's most recognisable historic landscapes. For Üstek, however, the significance of London Sculpture Week extends beyond the individual works. She describes its evolution over five years as a shift towards “a shared perspective on engaging with sculpture in the city”, while this year's programme also seeks to acknowledge the people working behind the scenes to make London's public art possible. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Ramesh-Mario-Nithiyendran--Warrior-Figure--2026.-Photography-Phillip-Huynh.-Courtesy-the-artist--Jhaveri-Contemporary-and-Sullivan-Strumpf.jpg) Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, **Warrior Figure* (2026), Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai) and Sullivan+Strumpf (Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore), English Gardens, The Regent’s Park, NW1 4LL. Photo: Phillip Huynh, courtesy the artist, Jhaveri Contemporary and Sullivan+Strumpf. “London offers a unique landscape where sculpture emerges in unexpected places and forms,” Üstek says, ranging from “temporary installations to enduring commissions, civic monuments to fleeting expressions within public spaces”. Her observation points towards one of the defining characteristics of London's sculpture scene. Public art here is not a single genre or aesthetic. It can be permanent or temporary, monumental or intimate, commissioned by a public institution or encountered unexpectedly within the urban landscape. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Carolina-Aguirre--Held--2026.-Artwork-render--Courtesy-the-artist-and-Ruttkowski.jpg) Carolina Aguirre, **Held* (2026), Ruttkowski;68 (Bochum, Cologne, Düsseldorf, New York, Paris), English Gardens, The Regent’s Park, NW1 4LL. Photo: Artwork render, courtesy the artist and Ruttkowski. ## East Bank explores the legacy of Olympic public art Further east, London Sculpture Week turns towards the legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. East Bank will host a walking tour exploring public sculpture across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, looking at commissions created for London 2012 alongside more recent works commissioned for the developing cultural and educational district. Among the works visitors will encounter are **Trēow of Time** by Larry Achiampong and David Blandy and **A Place Beyond** by Thomas J. Price. For Tamsin Ace, Director of East Bank, the significance of the programme lies in its ability to encourage audiences to see the city differently. “London Sculpture Week plays an important role in the cultural life of the capital, encouraging people to engage with the city in new ways and from fresh perspectives,” she says. The walking tour also provides an opportunity to consider how public art can continue to shape a neighbourhood long after the event that originally transformed it has ended. Fourteen years after London 2012, the Olympic Park has evolved into a major cultural and educational destination, with public art forming part of its architectural and social identity. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Lubna-Chowdhary--Temporal-Trace--2024.-Photo-Thierry-Bal--1-.jpg) Lubna Chowdhary, **Temporal Trace* (2024), large-scale ground drawing of fluid lines and dots inspired by the Kolam tradition, commissioned by London Legacy Development Corporation with architects Allies and Morrison and landscape architects LDA Design, Waterfront Square, East Bank, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 2AQ. Photo © Thierry Bal. ## When sculpture meets food At **Sculpture in the City**, the relationship between art and the city takes a more unexpected turn. For London Sculpture Week, **A Taste of Sculpture in the City** will explore parallels between food and visual art. Led by Stella Ioannou, Artistic Director of Sculpture in the City and Founding Director of LACUNA, with special guest Sam Bompas of creative studio Bompas & Parr, the event invites participants to taste a selection of canapés inspired by works featured in Sculpture in the City's 14th edition. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Ai-Weiwei--Roots_-Palace--2019----Ai-Weiwei-Studio_-Courtesy-of-Ai-Weiwei-Studio--Lisson-Gallery--and-neugerriemschneider--Berlin.-Photo----Nick-Turpin--4-.JPG) Ai Weiwei, **Roots: Palace* (2019), cast iron, 141 × 250 × 195cm, St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Churchyard, EC2M 3TL. © Ai Weiwei Studio; courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio, Lisson Gallery and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Photo © Nick Turpin. The programme includes works by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Julian Opie, Maya Rose Edwards and Oliver Bragg. Ioannou sees the wider week as an important celebration of London's public art ecosystem, describing Sculpture in the City as contributing “a foodie lens to public art” through its programme. She also points to the broader importance of taking sculpture beyond conventional art spaces. “The continued success of London Sculpture Week is a testament to the public art offering in London and how essential it is to our urban landscape,” she says. Sculpture in the City has been transforming the financial district into a rotating outdoor gallery since 2011\. Its 2026 edition is the 14th, with the project having presented 165 artworks by 140 artists to date. The setting is particularly revealing. Contemporary sculpture appears among office towers, streets and public squares, encountered by workers and visitors moving through one of the world's major financial centres. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Julian-Opie--Charles--Jiwon--Nethaneel--and-Elena.--2024.-Courtesy-the-artist-and-Lisson-Gallery--London.jpg) Julian Opie, **Charles. Jiwon. Nethaneel. Elena.* (2024), concrete, 264.4 × 194.8 × 80cm each, 100 Bishopsgate, EC2M 1GT. Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery, London. ## The Line connects art, nature and the city Perhaps the most distinctive setting can be found along **The Line**, East London's public art trail connecting Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with The O2. Following the waterways and the Greenwich Meridian, The Line offers a 7.5-mile journey through an evolving landscape of art, nature and heritage. Unlike a conventional exhibition, there is no single entrance or prescribed viewing sequence. Visitors encounter works as they move through the city. For London Sculpture Week 2026, The Line will present a free wellbeing walk, a film screening with Zineb Sedira and activities inspired by installations by artists including Rasheed Araeen, Helen Cammock, Madge Gill, Antony Gormley, Carsten Höller, Yinka Ilori and Eva Rothschild. Sarah Carrington, Director of The Line, believes this accessibility is central to the value of public sculpture. “Public sculpture makes art genuinely accessible and brings proven benefits for health and wellbeing,” she says. It can strengthen “our connection to place, to the stories that shape our past and future, and to one another”. The Line demonstrates that possibility particularly well. A sculpture beside a waterway can transform the journey itself into an act of looking. A work encountered on foot can interrupt the routine of a commute. Art becomes part of the landscape rather than something separated from it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/Samuel-Ross--Caucus.-Copyright-Samuel-Ross--courtesy-of-Friedman-Benda.-Photo----Nick-Turpin.JPG) Samuel Ross, **CAUCUS*, powder-coated stainless steel, 92 × 360 × 116cm, Mitre Square, EC3A 5DH. Copyright Samuel Ross, courtesy of Friedman Benda. Photo © Nick Turpin. ## Reframing the monument At the heart of London Sculpture Week will be a symposium at **The Warburg Institute on 25 September**, bringing together leading voices in public art to examine its changing social role. Under the theme **“Reframing Monumentality”**, the symposium will consider what monuments can represent in contemporary society and how artists are responding to the traditions of monumental public sculpture. The question is increasingly relevant. For centuries, monuments have been used to commemorate rulers, military victories, political figures and national histories. Contemporary public art has begun to ask different questions: Who is represented? Who is excluded? What should a city remember? And can a monument become a place for debate rather than simply a statement of certainty? London's current sculpture landscape provides an unusually rich setting in which to consider these questions. From Tschabalala Self's contemporary figure in Trafalgar Square to installations along East London's waterways, the city's public artworks demonstrate how sculpture can reflect changing ideas about identity, memory, community and place. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/The-Line---Serge-Attukwei-Clottey---Tribe-and-Tribulation_Greenwich-Peninsula_2022_photocredit--Ada-Ihebom.jpg) Serge Attukwei Clottey, **Tribe and Tribulation* (2022), mixed media, 550 × 140 × 140cm, North Greenwich. Co-curated by The Line and Arup Phase 2\. Photograph by Ada Ihebom. ## A city-wide gallery without walls What makes London Sculpture Week particularly compelling is not simply the quality of the individual artworks. It is the way the programme reveals London itself as an exhibition space. The participating projects occupy radically different environments. Trafalgar Square is defined by political history and monumental architecture. The Regent's Park offers a more contemplative landscape. The City of London places sculpture among skyscrapers and office workers, while the Olympic Park connects art with a post-industrial landscape undergoing rapid transformation. The Line introduces yet another possibility, allowing art, nature and waterways to coexist along a continuous route. Together, these locations demonstrate that sculpture does not need a museum to acquire cultural significance. Indeed, removing the gallery walls can make an artwork more democratic. There is no ticket required to walk through much of the programme, no expectation that visitors possess specialist knowledge and no guarantee that audiences will even have intended to see the work. Sculpture simply enters the public realm. That accessibility is increasingly important at a time when cultural institutions are reconsidering how they engage with audiences and how contemporary art can become part of everyday life. London Sculpture Week offers one answer: take the art outside. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/TheLine_Antony-Gormley_Quantum-Cloud-2000_Photo-credit-Emily-Lovell.jpg) Antony Gormley, **Quantum Cloud* (2000), galvanised steel, 29 × 16 × 10m, North Greenwich. Courtesy the artist and Mayor of London. Photograph © Emily Lovell. ## Events to Look Out For Alongside the outdoor exhibitions and sculpture trails, London Sculpture Week 2026 offers a programme of guided tours, talks and events designed to deepen the experience of public art. Among the highlights are: **The Line: Youth Guides Tours** **13 September, 12pm to 5pm | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | Free** Local young people will lead visitors through Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, sharing the area's heritage and exploring its public art, nature and landscape. **Frieze Sculpture: Curator's Tour with Fatoş Üstek** **16 September, 12pm to 1pm | The Regent's Park | Free** Frieze Sculpture curator Fatoş Üstek will lead a tour of the 2026 exhibition, discussing the artists and ideas behind this year's presentation. **A Taste of Sculpture in the City** **19 September, 11am to 2pm | Bar Fogo, 100 Bishopsgate | Free, ticketed** Stella Ioannou and Sam Bompas combine a walking tour of Sculpture in the City with a tasting inspired by selected artworks, exploring the relationship between visual art and food. **The Line: Wellbeing Walk** **24 September, 11am to 1pm | Free, places limited** A guided walk along The Line combines mindfulness exercises and creative activities with the area's wildlife, art and heritage, offering a more contemplative way to experience the public art trail. **East Bank: Sculpting a Legacy** **24 September, 2pm | UCL East Marshgate | Free** Sam Wilkinson leads a walking tour examining 14 years of public art at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, from works commissioned for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to more recent East Bank commissions. **London Sculpture Week Symposium: Reframing Monumentality** **25 September, 2pm to 6pm | The Warburg Institute | Ticketed** The third annual London Sculpture Week Symposium brings together leading voices in public art and cultural practice to reconsider the social role of contemporary sculpture in the public realm. Under the theme *Reframing Monumentality*, discussions will explore how sculpture can encourage civic engagement and new forms of dialogue. **Introduction to the Fourth Plinth** **25 September | Trafalgar Square | Free, drop-in** The Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Team will introduce visitors to the history of the Fourth Plinth and its latest commission, Tschabalala Self's *Lady in Blue*. The full London Sculpture Week 2026 programme and booking information will be available from early September at the official London Sculpture Week website. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/04/9f/049f21fc-2d04-422c-9e33-73935ebdb811/content/images/2026/08/TheLine_Zineb-Sedira_Dreams-Are-a-Language-Made-of-Images_2025_3MillsStudios_CreditAngus-Mill--9--2.jpg) Zineb Sedira, **Dreams Are a Language Made of Images* (2025), aluminium composite material, stainless steel, aluminium and LED lighting, 3.75 × 19.4 × 15.7m, Three Mills. Co-curated by The Line and Arup Phase 2, in collaboration with 3 Mills Studios. Supported by Fluxus, Neon Circus, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Zineb Sedira Commission Circle, including Maria Sukkar and those who wish to remain anonymous. Photograph © Angus Mill. ## London as an exhibition The fifth edition of London Sculpture Week arrives at a moment when public sculpture is undergoing an important reassessment. The traditional monument, once designed to communicate a fixed historical narrative, is increasingly being replaced or challenged by works that invite ambiguity, participation and conversation. The programme's range reflects that shift. There are monumental figures, abstract forms, installations, community-led projects, performances, walks, films and even culinary interpretations of sculpture. Together, they suggest that public art is no longer simply about placing an object in a public space. It is about creating relationships between people, places and ideas. As Carrington puts it, London Sculpture Week is becoming “a recognised fixture in the capital's cultural calendar”, providing an opportunity “to experience London anew through sculpture”. That may ultimately be the programme's greatest achievement. For nine days in September, London will offer audiences the opportunity to see familiar places differently, to encounter international artists outside conventional gallery settings and to consider what public art can contribute to the life of a city. The gallery, in effect, is London. And for anyone willing to walk, look and pause, the exhibition is already waiting outside.