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It's back. The 13th edition of Sculpture in the City sees lots of new artworks in the Square Mile.
Head over to the eastern end of the City (Bishopsgate, Leadenhall, Aldgate) and you're likely to encounter an unusual density of public art. That's because, each year, the Sculpture in the City programme installs a bevy of new works, which remain in situ for 12 months.
This years crop has now started to arrive, with the full launch on 24 July 2024. It includes 17 artworks from 15 artists... although only 10 of these are new to the streets.
One of the highlights is likely to be the "kissing gate", a touch of rural romance introduced to Aldgate Square by artist Maya Rose Edwards. That should keep Instagram fed for a while. Meanwhile, Hilary Jack's Deluge on the Cheesegrater building features "two LED text strips resembling a scrolling newsreel, one of them displaying contemporary flood data and the other narrating ancient flood myths".
Good news for those of us who enjoyed Oliver Bragg's humorous bench plaques, which have been part of the show for the past two years. These are now confirmed as permanent. Likewise, Elisa Artesero’s The Garden of Floating Words — those neon phrases in the planters of St Mary Axe — will also be staying indefinitely.
The trail won't be complete until September, when four new works by Julian Opie will be unveiled at 100 Bishopsgate.
Sculpture in the City, 13th edition runs from 24 July 2024 to early summer 2025. It's entirely free.