A major public-art initiative has launched across London, presenting works by leading British and international artists throughout the city’s Underground network. Branded #LondonIsOpen, the project is a collaboration between Mayor Sadiq Khan and UK artist David Shrigley, a 2013 Turner Prize nominee, and aims to convey that London is open for business, ideas and visitors from around the world.
The programme features a diverse group of artists and a variety of media. Cuba-born artist Tania Bruguera contributes a piece featuring the ancient supercontinent Pangaea, under the theme “Dignity has no nationality.” Her work highlights shared humanity and the importance of respect beyond borders.
London-born artist Mark Titchner presents No Them Only Us, a digital video installation at Brixton Station. The piece is shown on cross-track projectors visible from the station platforms and engages commuters with thought-provoking text and imagery that address identity, community and shared responsibility.
Gillian Wearing, OBE, a London-based video artist and photographer who won the Turner Prize in 1997, is represented through a photographic image displayed on digital escalator panels. The photograph shows a couple holding a placard that reads “Work Towards World Peace.” It derives from Wearing’s broader video project in which ordinary people’s confessions and thoughts were recorded while passersby were invited to write down what they were thinking—an approach that captures fragments of public feeling and private reflection.
The installations are placed across multiple Tube stations to reach a broad public audience, turning daily commutes into opportunities for unexpected encounters with contemporary art. By embedding artistic interventions into everyday transit spaces, #LondonIsOpen seeks to make art more accessible while prompting viewers to reflect on themes such as dignity, belonging and collective responsibility.
Organisers say the initiative also serves a cultural and civic purpose: to welcome international visitors and residents, boost civic pride and underline London’s long-standing role as a hub for creative exchange. The selection of contributors reflects the city’s multicultural profile and includes artists working across sculpture, photography, video and digital formats.
Accessibility and visibility were central to the project’s planning. Digital displays, projections and signage were chosen to suit high-traffic environments and ensure that the works communicate clearly to diverse audiences, from brief glances on a platform to more sustained viewing during transfer waits. Each piece is positioned to prompt curiosity without disrupting the flow of commuters.
By placing prominent contemporary artworks into the public realm of the Tube, #LondonIsOpen transforms transit infrastructure into a cultural corridor. The initiative encourages commuters and visitors alike to pause, consider and engage with ideas that resonate across borders—an artistic statement that aligns with the city’s identity as an international capital of culture and creativity.
The programme underscores how public art can function as both civic messaging and a catalyst for conversation. Rather than confining works to galleries, the project integrates art into everyday life, offering a democratic platform where diverse audiences can encounter and respond to contemporary artistic practice.
As the installations continue to appear across the Underground network, they contribute to an ongoing public dialogue about belonging, openness and shared humanity—key themes that the organisers hope will reach a wide and varied audience through the simple act of travelling around the city.
