London’s art scene has gone quite literally underground thanks to three not-so-new yet thriving initiatives from Transport for London (TfL) and its sponsors. Platform For Art, Poems on the Underground and licensed busking have all added colour and entertainment to the lives of commuters facing the daily grind and have music and arts junkies travelling to tube stations to see exhibitions and artists as if they were off to the Tate or the Brixton Academy. Yet, while “trains & art” might not go together as naturally as “severe delays & the northern line”, the Underground has been a long-standing pioneer of art and design since 1908 when Frank Pick took responsibility for the then Underground Group’s publicity. He co-ordinated their graphic identity (the famous ‘UNDERGROUND’ lettering and roundel logo that is still around today) and launched a poster campaign commissioning artists and newcomers such as Man Ray, Edward McKnight Kauffer and Graham Sutherland throughout the 1920s and 30s. Harry Beck’s world famous tube map also makes it into the archives of “design classics” and adds to London Transport’s arts reputation.
Platform For Art was initiated in 2000. Gloucester Road station hosts four exhibitions a year and is currently showing a truly stunning installation by Chiho Aoshima entitled City Glow, Mountain Whisper. I have been known on more than one occasion to go around the houses to my destination (Westminster to Finchley Road via the Circle Line) just so I could by-pass this exhibition and get my Aoshima fix. City Glow, Mountain Whisper is her first solo project in the UK, and is at Gloucester Road station until January 2007, although many would like it to remain a permanent feature. “I really enjoyed walking down the platform from city to mountain and could have happily gazed at the view for hours” one happy passenger commented. “I really don’t see myself as an art-interested person, but this is just so great…Every morning I gaze into the walls of Gloucester Road station…it does wonders,” says another.
Alongside contemporary artists, Platform for Art is also committed to Creative Communities and is currently showing Connected at Westminster station as part of the 50th anniversary of London Transport’s Direct Recruitment scheme in the Caribbean. Connected combines photographs by Othello De’Souza Hartley, the writings of Courttia Newland and the individual tales of four people who moved to London from the West Indies to work as Underground staff: a so-called temporary placement to cover labour shortages after the Second World War that resulted in settlement and four very special stories. Many other schemes, events and exhibitions are running in different areas supporting local communities and showcasing local talent. Platform for Art Creative Communities gives untold stories a voice and allows visitors to learn a little more about the neighbourhood they have stepped into…and the delights don’t stop at the station.
Poems on the Underground launched twenty years ago with an aim of bringing poetry to a wide-ranging audience of Underground passengers. A new set of poems is published three times a year and displayed in the advertising spaces on the trains. It’s a mixed bag spanning Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Lavinia Greenlaw and international contemporary poets. Lewis Carrol’s The Lobster’s Quadrille has never failed to raise a smile on my late night journeys home and the reaction from fellow commuters is equally cheery. “The moment where I realised it was poetry, not an advert trying to sell me something was a lovely moment” one traveller confesses.
Sky’s Artsworld is airing a “subterranean tour” on the beauty of the written word and the pleasure it brings tube travellers in celebration of Poems On The Underground’s anniversary. Many other cities worldwide have followed suit with similar programmes including Sydney, New York, Paris and Barcelona to name but a few.
Last, but not least, is my favourite London institution – the busker! Carling has been working with London Underground since 2003 and provides 30 officially licensed and legal pitches throughout the Underground network. If you want to be a busker these days you have to apply and audition, and it can be quite a lengthy process. Some believe a lot of money has been thrown into a glorified ad campaign, and as buskers still rely solely on public donations, it must have landed in the pockets of the Underground. Others though seem quite content with this arrangement, believing they are better off with regular two-hour spots and a team of staff who come around to check everything is okay. 90% of the commuting public are also happier, believing vetted buskers allow for better quality entertainment and increased safety. It isn’t only the music-loving passenger who benefits – the buskers are also getting noticed. Hadar came to London 5 years ago from a small village in Jerusalem. She was approached by the South Bank Show whilst singing at Piccadilly Circus and has recently released two of her songs on Defected Records. The odd famous face has also been spotted blasting out tunes for the camera from a busking pitch including The Libertines, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Badly Drawn Boy.
There was speculation that privatisation would bring an end to art on the underground, but it is still going strong, supporting artists and communities and cheering the weary traveller. So, the next time you head off to the city for some culture, entertainment or star-spotting, don’t forget the thriving scene beneath your feet. It’s all yours for the price of a one-day travelcard and a couple of quid in the busker’s tin.
