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It's back. The 14th edition of Sculpture in the City sees lots of new artworks in the Square Mile, including big names.
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 year's crop launches on 16 July, though some artworks usually appear a week or so earlier. It's not exactly 'all change' in 2025. More sculptures than ever are being retained from last year's bunch. However, they'll be augmented by some star-name additions. Here's what we're promised, in the City of London's own words:
- Ai Weiwei’s Roots: Palace, a dramatic cast-iron tree root sculpture at St Botolph without Bishopsgate, created in collaboration with Brazilian artisans by moulding from endangered native Brazilian trees. The work explores themes of exile, displacement and environmental destruction.
- Jane and Louise Wilson’s Dendrophiles, a new work by the artist duo, installed beneath the escalators at The Leadenhall Building (Cheesegrater), incorporates scans of ancient wood believed to have been part of a crossing over a river central to the Roman origins of the City of London, and DNA imagery, exploring the connection between the City’s skyline and its ancient past.
- Andrew Sabin’s Looping Loop, a new large-scale abstract sculpture made using moulds from shapes first sculpted in margarine, combines soft, textured, surfaces with vividly coloured, solid casting materials, located at 70 St Mary Axe.
Six works will be retained from last year. Among them will be Maya Rose Edwards's Kissing Gate, which is literally a kissing gate placed bafflingly in the middle of the pavement at Aldgate. It's a delight watching people ponder its purpose.
Two Sculpture in the City artworks have now been made permanent. When Oliver Bragg's humorous bench plaques were unveiled in 2023, we opined that they're "ones we'd want to keep". And, lo, they will now remain forever. Likewise, Elisa Artesero’s The Garden of Floating Words, neon words on St Mary Axe, will also be retained.
Sculpture in the City 2025 officially launches on 16 July 2025 and runs through till early summer 2026. It's entirely free. See the full line-up here.
