Bright lights, big city: Light art festival takes to London's streets

Visitors to the South Bank look at The Wave, by Vertigo, one of several light installations placed around the capital which together form the Lumiere London festival, in London, Britain, January 17, 2018 REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - London's dark winter nights will shine a little brighter starting Thursday, as a nighttime art exhibition featuring a range of publicly displayed works that use light as a medium gets underway.

Lumiere London features over 50 works by British and overseas artists, located in public spaces, buildings and on the streets. The artists who have created works include Tracey Emin, Alaa Minawi, Julian Opie and Miguel Chevalier.

"We've basically taken the center of London and turned it into a giant, outdoor art gallery," said Helen Marriage, artistic director of Lumiere London.

Visitors to the South Bank look at The Wave, by Vertigo, one of several light installations placed around the capital which together form the Lumiere London festival, in London, Britain, January 17, 2018 REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

"There are 58 installations all created by artists working with light in wonderful and extraordinary ways and people are free to wander; it's free to experience."

The works themselves comprise a range of installations, including a giant desk lamp in King's Cross, a triangular tunnel of light on the South Bank and one of London's iconic telephone boxes turned into an illuminated fish tank in Seven Dials.

Lumiere London runs Jan. 18-21.

Visitors to the South Bank look at The Wave, by Vertigo, one of several light installations placed around the capital which together form the Lumiere London festival, in London, Britain, January 17, 2018 REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Mark Hanrahan; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Visitors to the South Bank walk through The Wave, by Vertigo, one of several light installations placed around the capital which together form the Lumiere London festival, in London, Britain, January 17, 2018 REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Visitors to the South Bank look at The Wave, by Vertigo, one of several light installations placed around the capital which together form the Lumiere London festival, in London, Britain, January 17, 2018 REUTERS/Peter Nicholls