Public Art in London
London’s best public art is often hiding in plain sight — or taking over Trafalgar Square.
London has a public art tradition that runs from Roman-era monuments to real-time billboard commissions, and the best of it sits in conversation with the city rather than standing apart from it. The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is one of the most rigorous and surprising public art programs in the world. The Turbine Hall at Tate Modern has redefined what a large-scale art commission can be. The Serpentine Pavilion is reinvented every summer by a different world-famous architect. And the streets of Shoreditch are a rotating gallery of street art that’s more interesting than most official programs.
Use the London map to see what’s open nearby when you’re already in the city.
The Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square
The world’s most rigorous rotating public art commission.
Trafalgar Square has four plinths at its corners. Three carry historic statues. The fourth — the northwest corner — was originally designed for an equestrian statue that was never funded. It remained empty from 1841 until 1999, when the Royal Society of Arts proposed using it for temporary contemporary art commissions.
What has happened since then is remarkable. Artists including Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, Hans Haacke, Elmgreen and Dragset, and Katharina Fritsch have each created a work specifically for the plinth. The commissions run for roughly 18 months each, then change. The selection process is conducted by a curatorial committee, and the results are consistently more intelligent and more interesting than most official public art programs anywhere.
The plinth is always in Trafalgar Square. It’s always free. Check current London exhibitions or the Mayor of London’s website to see what’s currently installed.
The Turbine Hall, Tate Modern
The most ambitious public art space in Europe.
The Turbine Hall at Tate Modern is a 35-metre-high, 155-metre-long former industrial space that has been used since the museum’s opening in 2000 for large-scale commissioned works. The annual Hyundai Commission brings an artist — typically working at a scale and ambition not possible anywhere else — to respond to the space.
Past Turbine Hall commissions have included Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project (a half-sun and artificial fog that brought two million people to Tate Modern in 2003), Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth (a crack running 167 metres across the floor), and Carsten Höller’s Test Site (five slides descending from upper floors).
The Turbine Hall is free to enter regardless of museum admission. You can walk in specifically to see the current commission without buying any other ticket.
The Serpentine Pavilion
The most anticipated annual architecture event in the world.
Since 2000, the Serpentine Galleries have commissioned a prominent international architect — one who has not built in the UK before — to design a temporary pavilion on the lawn adjacent to the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The pavilion serves as a café and venue through the summer season, from late spring to October.
The list of architects who have built Serpentine Pavilions includes Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer, Toyo Ito, Zaha Hadid, Peter Zumthor, Herzog & de Meuron, Álvaro Siza, Selgas Cano, Bjarke Ingels, and Frida Escobedo.
Access to the pavilion is free. It’s the most accessible major architecture experience in London.
Thames Path Sculpture
The Thames path between Tower Bridge in the east and Battersea in the west passes through multiple public art installations, waterfront sculptures, and architecturally significant spaces.
Key stops along the path:
- Tower Bridge to Tate Modern (South Bank): The stretch from London Bridge through Bankside contains riverside sculpture, public installations, and the approach to Tate Modern
- The Scoop at More London — Amphitheatre and public art space near City Hall
- Tate Modern to Vauxhall (South Bank, continued): The walk continues through Southbank Centre and toward the MI6 Building
- Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station: The new Nine Elms development has invested heavily in public art along the river
East London Street Art
Brick Lane, Shoreditch, and the constantly evolving outdoor gallery.
The streets around Brick Lane, Shoreditch, and Hackney Road in East London contain one of the world’s most active concentrations of street art. Unlike many street art zones that fossilize into tourist destinations, this area still changes regularly — new works appear, existing works are painted over, and the best artists continue to use these walls as genuine creative opportunities.
Banksy: Several Banksy works are documented in East London, though the exact status of any specific piece is always uncertain. The area’s broader street art culture makes finding one feel like a discovery rather than a tick-box exercise.
Best walks:
- Brick Lane and Hanbury Street — Start at the top of Brick Lane (Bethnal Green end) and walk south
- Shoreditch High Street east — Multiple curated walls
- Rivington Street and Old Street — Denser street art cluster
ArcelorMittal Orbit, Stratford
The ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Olympic Park in Stratford is a 114-metre-high sculpture by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond — the tallest sculpture in the UK. The observation tower element charges for entry, but the sculpture itself is visible from across the Olympic Park for free.
Stratford is also home to the ongoing public art program throughout the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Commuter Art: Crossrail and the London Underground
The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) stations commissioned significant art for their new public spaces:
- Tottenham Court Road — New mural commissions
- Bond Street — Artworks for the new station spaces
- Paddington — Entrance artworks
The Tube system more broadly has a longstanding program of site-specific art. Gloucester Road station has a dedicated art installation space in its disused platforms. Many stations feature original tile work and platform art dating from the 1980s Art on the Underground program.
Building a Public Art Day in London
Central London Route
- Start at Trafalgar Square (Fourth Plinth and National Gallery)
- Walk along the Embankment toward Waterloo Bridge
- Cross to the South Bank and walk east to Tate Modern (Turbine Hall)
- Continue along the Thames path as far as energy allows
Park and Pavilion Route (Summer)
- Start at Kensington Gardens — Serpentine Galleries and Pavilion
- Walk through Hyde Park to the Serpentine North Gallery
- Continue to Victoria for Tate Britain
- Walk the Millbank route back along the Thames
East London Route
- Start at Whitechapel Gallery (great context for the area)
- Walk into Shoreditch via Brick Lane
- Explore the street art streets (Hanbury, Rivington, Old Street)
- Walk north toward Hackney Road for additional studio and gallery activity