Crossrail Art Programme

Duration: 2010-2015Client: CrossrailArtist: Douglas Gordon, Michal Rovner, Richard Wright, Spencer Finch
Location: London
Services: Cultural Partnerships, Public Art StrategyTypologies: Cultural & Educational, Public Realm, Transport & InfrastructureTags: Arts, Strategy

Crossrail Art Programme (formerly project ‘The Culture Line’)

In 2010, Futurecity was appointed to develop a visionary art commissioning strategy for Crossrail, originally described as the ‘Culture Line’. The proposal was for a permanent world-class, line-wide art programme across Crossrail’s 7 new central and east London Elizabeth line stations.

The strategy influenced by Futurecity’s experience of working on large art, architecture and infrastructure projects, proposed site-specific artworks by some of the world’s most renowned artists and the largest collaborative art commissioning process in a generation. The strategy was also designed to assist the search for project funding. In order to raise the profile of this ambitious public art project, Futurecity identified 7 of London’s leading international, commercial contemporary art galleries – one for each station.

Today, 9 artists are working with Crossrail to create 10 works of public art that will be integrated into 7 of the new Elizabeth line stations to create a unique exhibition that reflects the ambition of London’s newest railway and the communities it serves. The project falls outside Crossrail’s core funding and so The Crossrail Art Foundation has been raising funds from corporate funders, with each contribution being match funded by the City of London Corporation.

  • Paddington – US artist Spencer Finch’s hand drawn cloudscape will be printed into the 120 metre glazed canopy, co-funded by Heathrow and City of London Corporation
  • Bond Street – British artist Darren Almond creating an abstract artwork that will be integrated into the spaces above and surround the escalators of the station’s western ticket hall, funded by Selfridges and City of London Corporation
  • Tottenham Court Road – Turner Prize winners Richard Wright and Douglas Gordon are producing distinct artworks for ticket halls at either end of the station, lead-funded by Almacantar and the City of London Corporation and co-funded by Derwent London
  • Farringdon – British artist Simon Periton’s locally inspired artworks will adorn both ticket halls at the centre of the Elizabeth line route, co-funded by Goldman Sachs and the City of London Corporation
  • Liverpool Street – Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and British sculptor Conrad Shawcross are creating new artworks for the station’s two ticket halls, sponsored by British Land, Landsec and City of London Corporation
  • Canary Wharf – digital art being developed by internationally renowned artist Michal Rovner, co-funded by Canary Wharf Group and the City of London Corporation
  • Whitechapel – Inspired by the rich diversity of the local community, artist Chantal Joffe is creating large-scale collages for the platforms of the new station in east London

In total, seven London-based galleries have been selected to support the Crossrail Art Programme. They are:

The Crossrail Art Programme will fundamentally alter the way people navigate London with a series of unique major art installations across multiple locations in the city.

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