Heart of London Business Alliance’s award-winning cultural initiative, Art of London, today revealed a new public art installation, ‘Art Reframed’, developed in partnership with the newly reopened National Portrait Gallery.
Unveiled by actor and art enthusiast Russell Tovey to launch ‘Art of London’s Summer Season 2023: The Art of Entertainment’, some of the National Portrait Gallery’s most iconic portraits will be installed on 52 giant colourful cubes lining the skies of London’s entertainment district, Leicester Square. ‘Art Reframed’ is one of the West End’s biggest ever public art initiatives running from July into October, with installations now hanging over Coventry Street and Irving Street to be decorated next week.
Bordering the iconic entertainment square, Art of London’s head-turning public art trail features some of the world’s greatest icons across film, literature and music. From today and into next week, the portraits above the West End will include depictions of great writers including William Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, Ira Aldridge, and Noel Coward; blockbuster film talent Olivia Colman, Judi Dench and Saoirse Ronan; and musicians such as Elton John, Dusty Springfield, Millicent Small, and Kate Bush.
Russell Tovey, actor and supporter of Art of London, says: “I am delighted to help bring world-class portraits from the National Portrait Gallery to the streets in London’s cultural heart and celebrate some of the world’s most important cultural figures. My own ethos is all about making art accessible and fun and I hope this creative initiative encourages members of the public to seek out the incredible art both on the streets and in galleries across the West End.”
‘Art of London’s Summer Season 2023: The Art of Entertainment’, aims to inspire West End visitors to learn about notable figures, past and present, who have shaped Britain today. As well as modern-day legends, the complete line-up of portraits contains famous faces and important works from the 1700s and 1800s, including painters Sir Joshua Reynolds and William Hogarth, and actors such as David Garrick and Ira Aldridge.
The Summer Season will feature several headline public arts commissions, special projects, participatory consumer events and fringe activity in partnership with prestigious arts and culture institutions across the West End, Piccadilly and St James. Beginning today, the programme will run until October 2023 and is Art of London’s first partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, which reopened in June following a three-year closure and major transformation to its building.
The installation creates a direct link from the West End to the National Portrait Gallery, driving visitors to the Gallery’s new entrance and forecourt, Ross Place, in through its new doors, which feature artworks by Tracey Emin. Its new ‘history makers’ space, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Gallery, displays its most recent contemporary acquisitions and commissions, including Russell Tovey’s portrait by Doron Langberg.
Mark Williams, Director of Art of London, says: “Following the success of last year’s Art of London Summer Season, we’re thrilled to be back for 2023 with a new campaign in the West End celebrating individuals past and present who have made a significant contribution to art and culture. In a public art trail around London’s entertainment district, West End visitors will find the streets of the West End transformed with tributes to legendary faces across film, literature and music.”
