London Nights: Museum of London unveils the city at night in major photography exhibition

London Nights

Museum of London

11 May – 11 November 2018

Major exhibition

The Museum of London’s next major exhibition, London Nights, will explore the city after dark through both contemporary and historic imagery, ranging from the late 19^th century to the present day. From the unexplored to the imagined, from Soho to Sydenham, the city at night reveals itself moment by moment from the mundane to the beguiling or even alarming.

The exhibition will be split into three sections:

The first, London Illuminated, will showcase the varied ways in which photographers have been inspired by and captured the aesthetic of the city at night, depicting London illuminated by limited natural and artificial light in contrast to the familiar daytime.

Dark Matters will explore the darker side of the city, exploring the uncomfortable, the unknown and the mysterious. Visitors will be immersed in imagery relating to night-walking, the blackout of the Blitz, isolation, threat and vulnerability.

The final part of the exhibition, Switch On…Switch Off…, will look at Londoners at work, rest and play in the city after dark. The familiar commute home, a quick change of pace as office workers head out for the night, or indeed workers commence their night shift.

Anna Sparham, Curator of Photography at the Museum of London, said:

“As the sun sets over London each night the mood changes as people head home, to work or off out on the town. Through powerful photography London Nights will explore everything from the twinkling lights and buzzing nightlife to the darker, more uncomfortable vulnerability that sometimes arises in the urban, or suburban night environment.”

The exhibition will comprise of at least 200 photographs and some film and will be an immersive, atmospheric space giving a real sense of the transition of night time in one of the biggest metropolises in the world.

Work from around 50 photographers will be on display, from the recognised Bill Brandt, Alvin Langdon Coburn and Rut Blees Luxemburg, to many established, emerging and lesser known. The diverse exhibition will showcase images drawn from the Museum of London’s own extensive photography collection, as well as many significant loans from other collections and active photographers.

There will be a range of programmed events happening in relation to the exhibition including evening, week day and weekend workshops and events.

Further information: www.museumoflondon.org.uk

#LondonNights

-ENDS-

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