Canary Wharf lights up after dark as its free Winter Lights trail begins

"Canary Wharf's 10th annual Winter Lights festival has opened, filling the docklands estate with 16 light displays, including six new commissions. In addition to the new temporary installations, the trail also highlights nine of Canary Wharf's permanent light artworks, many collected from previous editions of the festival. The free festival runs for just over a week - but be aware that it gets very busy at weekends, so I would recommend a mid-week visit if possible."

"They've also tried to theme this year's show for the first time, although you'd really struggle to detect the theme simply by looking at the lights. I have a rule of thumb that when a free annual show stops simply grabbing the best they can and starts creating annual themes, that's when they start to dry up. Curators can overthink things - just deliver the wow, no thinking needed."

"That said, the floating planets in the Elizabeth line station's roof garden, while a bit obviously a copy of Luke Jerram's work, are quite impressive. Strangly, they missed out Uranus from the list of planets included in the display. Free maps are available around the estate, or you can download one from here (PDF file). Generally, I find paper maps you can pick up at Canary Wharf much easier to use than squinting at a map on a tiny phone screen."

Canary Wharf's 10th Winter Lights festival opened with 16 light displays, including six new commissions, and highlights nine permanent light artworks from previous editions. The free festival runs daily 5pm–10pm until Saturday 31 January. Weekends get very busy, so mid-week visits are recommended. The show feels a bit weaker than in prior years, though still a worthwhile free event. The festival is themed for the first time, but the theme is not obvious from the artworks. Notable installations include floating planets in the Elizabeth line station roof garden, which are impressive but derivative and omit Uranus. Free paper maps and pink arrow signs guide visitors around Canary Wharf.

Read at ianVisits