Lakwena Maciver
Born in London in 1986 to British and Ugandan parents, Lakwena Maciver is an internationally renowned artist best known for her vibrant, large-scale murals. Her text-based work combines words, bold geometric patterns, and acid-bright, kaleidoscopic colour to create uplifting visual statements that transform public spaces. Lakwena has exhibited across the world, with commissions and installations in cities including Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Vienna.
Drawing inspiration from Afrofuturism, heritage, and spirituality, her practice re-appropriates the monumental visual language of advertising billboards, blending lyrical messaging with the decorative both aesthetically and conceptually. Through this approach, her art not only celebrates community and identity but also challenges viewers to reimagine the possibilities of shared urban space.
This October, Piccadilly Circus comes alive as Art After Dark 2025 brings a week of late-night art, music, and surprises to London’s West End.
London-based artist Lakwena Maciver headlines the festival with a towering, kaleidoscopic installation made from stacked disco light boxes and speakers, celebrating UK music culture... from home discos and street carnivals to electronic dance music.
Set to soar seven metres high, the installation transforms everyday objects, like 1980s living-room disco lights, into a dazzling spectacle of colour and sound. A specially curated 80s and 90s playlist in partnership with Apple Music turns Piccadilly Circus into an open-air dance floor, inviting culture seekers to move to the beat and soak up London’s vibrant musical heartbeat.
But the fun doesn’t stop there.. the festival also features a secret silent disco, an exclusive after-party and free late-night gallery hops across world-class institutions, all part of the West End art launch.
From 7 to 15 October 2025, join the party at Art After Dark and experience London’s streets transformed into a colourful, musical playground like never before.
Credits
Photo by Andy Rain
Image: Artist LAKWENA MACIVER (B.1986) with her painting, HA-HA 8 (2022). The painting is part of a group of works being sold for the MOWAA Rainforest Gallery and the Nigeria Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale in the in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 14 October © Christie’s Images Limited 2023