In conversation with Lakwena Maciver
“Bringing art, music and nightlife together feels like a more honest reflection of how culture actually functions in a city like London.”
- Lakwena Maciver
Lakwena Maciver. Image credit Danika Magdelena.
Lakwena Maciver is a London-based artist known for her use of colour and text, and for public artworks that bring a sense of connection to everyday spaces. As part of London’s Art After Dark programme, which presents large-scale artworks, music, and free events across the city, she has installed Rise and Shine, a 7-metre tower of disco lightboxes in Piccadilly Circus. The work continues her exploration of colour, light, and communal experience, transforming familiar objects into moments of shared enjoyment. We spoke with Lakwena about the project, her approach to public art, and the ways she hopes audiences will engage with her work.
Her work has been shown internationally in cities including London, Paris, Rotterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, and at institutions including the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Somerset House, the Southbank Centre in London, and the Rotterdam Kunsthal. Public commissions have ranged from one of the largest public artworks in the UK, wrapping an electrical substation in London, to projects in a juvenile detention centre in Arkansas, a monastery in Vienna, and the Bowery Wall in New York City.
Art After Dark is launching with your new artwork Rise and Shine, a 7-metre-tall tower of disco light boxes in Piccadilly Circus. How did this work take shape and how does it connect to ongoing themes in your practice?
Rise and Shine grew out of my ongoing interest in how colour, language, light and music can transform public space and bring people together. I’ve always been drawn to everyday objects and visual culture, and disco lightboxes felt like the perfect material - they’re nostalgic, joyful and deeply connected to community gatherings and music culture. Scaling them up into a tower allowed me to create something monumental while still rooted in familiarity. At its core, the work reflects themes that run throughout my practice: joy, accessibility, shared experience and the belief that public art can speak life and hope into the city.
How did you approach working with such an iconic location as Piccadilly Circus?
Piccadilly Circus carries so much visual, cultural and historical weight, so I wanted to respond to it with something that felt bold but generous. Rather than competing with the noise and spectacle of the area, I thought about how the work could become a beacon - a point of gathering that reimagines the space through colour, rhythm and sound. I was also really interested in the layers of heritage that exist there, and how a contemporary artwork could sit alongside those histories while speaking to the people who inhabit the space today.
Rendering of Lakwena’s Rise and Shine. Image courtesy of Art After Dark.
Alongside large-scale artworks, Art After Dark also includes music and free events across London, connecting with audiences outside traditional gallery settings. Why do programmes like this matter to you as an artist?
Accessibility is one of the key motivations behind my work. Programmes like Art After Dark allow art to exist in people’s everyday lives, you don’t need prior knowledge, confidence or money to take part. I love the idea of someone encountering a work by accident on their way home and having their evening shifted, even briefly. Bringing art, music and nightlife together feels like a more honest reflection of how culture actually functions in a city like London.
What do you hope someone might take away from encountering Rise and Shine?
I hope people feel uplifted, connected and welcomed. Even if they only spend a few moments with the work, I’d love for it to spark a sense of joy or remind them of the collective energy that makes London such a vibrant place. Ideally, it becomes a shared memory, something people experience together and carry with them beyond Piccadilly Circus.
The [Quick] #FLODown:
Best life advice?
Work with what you’ve got, be grateful for it and generous with it.
Last song you listened to?
African Typic Collection By Sam Fan Thomas
Last book you read?
From Hackney, With Love: An Intimate History of Gentrification by Richard Yeboah
Can’t live without…?
Rice cakes
What should the art world be more of and less of?
More accessible and less pretentious
Website: lakwena.com
Instagram: @lakwena
Art of London returns with its seasonal art and culture programme, Art After Dark led by artist Lakwena Maciver, from 03-10 February 2026. Visit artoflondon.co.uk.
