This is London Magazine February Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 24
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Art After Dark
ART AFTER DARK RETURNS
Art After Dark, Art of London’s free art
and culture programme, returns from
3-10 February with a week-long
celebration of London’s nightlife through
art and music, including a special afterhours DJ-set at the National Gallery.
Inspired by the city’s club culture, the
programme brings together large-scale
public artworks, late-night gallery
openings and exclusive music
experiences across the West End.
Channelling the energy and spectacle
of a live music festival, internationally
acclaimed London based artist Lakwena
Maciver will headline and launch the
programme with her landmark public
artwork, Rise and Shine, a 7-metre-tall
tower of stacked disco lightboxes, in
Piccadilly Circus. Installed at one of the
West End’s most recognisable
landmarks, the soaring artwork
reimagines the site’s analogue heritage
through kaleidoscopic colour and a
soundtrack inspired by community
music culture. Its acid-bright visuals and
illuminated forms reference the nightlife
of the 1980s and 1990s, a period that
influenced music genres from hip-hop to
drum and bass.
Art After Dark will also animate the
West End with a programme of late-night
events, including a special one-off afterhours DJ event at The National Gallery
on 5 February. Celebrating music
culture, guests will enjoy an exclusive
live DJ set inside the Gallery after
closing time, offering a rare chance to
dance after dark with friends in one of
London’s iconic cultural institutions.
The public art will be unveiled across
the West End, with new digital artworks
displayed daily on the giant Piccadilly
Lights and screens within the West End,
offering a vivid backdrop for culture
seekers as they stroll through the
district.
Throughout the week, the West End
will host late-night gallery openings,
bookable art tours via Art of London
Gallery HOP!, and live performances at
local bars and nightclubs.
Fot further information and details on
each of the events, visit the website at
www.artoflondon.co.uk
116 AT THE ATHENAEUM HOTEL
LIVE JAZZ BRUNCH WEEKENDS
To lift the winter blues, 116 at The
Athenaeum Hotel are launching a new
Live Jazz 3-Course Brunch, available
every Saturday and Sunday from now
until 1 March. Set in one of London’s
most prestigious central locations
overlooking Green Park, this brand-new
brunch brings live big band jazz to
Mayfair weekends, offering a fresh
cultural moment for the city’s dining and
music scene.
Guests can enjoy a seasonal threecourse menu accompanied by live jazz
performances, featuring dishes such as
smoked trout rillettes, feta shakshuka
and spiced pear crumble with custard.
For an indulgent weekend treat, brunch
can be paired with 90 minutes of
bottomless drinks, beginning with a
Mimosa, Bloody Mary or Prosecco on
arrival, followed by red or white wine.
Live jazz sets the tone, performed by
Chris Dean (pictured), one of Britain’s
most accomplished trombonists,
vocalists and big band leaders. He is
best known as the long-standing
bandleader of the legendary Syd
Lawrence Orchestra. Dean brings classic
big band sounds to life, with the band
performing timeless classics alongside
more contemporary favourites. His
career spans international performances,
Royal Variety shows, film scores
(including James Bond) and TV.
ROSE WYLIE: THE PICTURE COMES
FIRST AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY
Opening this month, the Royal
Academy of Arts will present the largest
survey to date of celebrated British artist
and Royal Academician Rose Wylie.
Known for her bold, figurative practice that
draws from diverse references across art
history, ancient civilisations, literature,
cinema, celebrity culture, current affairs
and immediate surroundings, this
exhibition will bring together over 90
works, including Wylie’s iconic artworks,
alongside new and previously unseen
paintings and drawings.
Wylie found success early in her career
as a painter, which she started later in life
in her fifties. Since then, she has
cemented her place as a cultural icon; her
art, her singular style and even her paintstrewn studio in the Kent countryside
making waves across the art world.
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
