Sculpture in the City, 2018

Let's be honest. Province of bankers and brokers, Gherkins, Cheesegraters and a thousand Pret A Mangers: the Square Mile isn't the first place you'd look to find a host of arresting artworks. And yet, every year, the City of London takes contemporary art out of its natural habitat and places it in surprising corners of the financial district.

Sculpture in the City 2018 will be the largest to date, showcasing 18 works from art world heavyweights. The outdoor exhibition will include works from internationally renowned artists including Sean Scully, Marina Abramovic and Nancy Rubins. To celebrate the centenary of female suffrage, nine of the Sculpture in the City works have been created by emerging and international female artists; their work will be positioned among some of London's most famous buildings, such as The Leadenhall Building, also known as the ‘Cheesegrater’, Richard Rogers' Lloyd’s building, the Gherkin and four brand new locations.

Thomas J. Price, Numen (Shifting Votive) One, Two and Three, 2016

Head to Callum Street to find Sarah Lucas' life-sized bronze Clydesdale horse Perceval, 2006, and to Leadenhall Market to see Shaun C Badham’s I’M STAYING, 2014, a magnificent neon artwork reflecting the historic market's changing face over time.

Elsewhere, there'll be Tracey Emin’s neon light sculpture, Your Lips Moved Across My Face, 2015, in Emin's signature handwriting, and a remarkable sound sculpture by performance artist Marina Abramovic. Tree, 1972, will be concealed within a tree at 99 Bishopsgate and will play birdsong, with an insistent, distorted repetition. Abramovic aims to distort perception and blur lines between fiction and reality with this work.

Now in its eighth year, Sculpture in the City has gone from strength to strength. For the first time, Sculpture in the City will host City SculptureFest, from 10.30am until 4pm on 30th June 2018. Taking place at St Helen’s Piazza, under The Leadenhall Building, visitors will have the opportunity to discover this year’s sculptures with family-friendly tours and trails, as well as a diverse range of activities focused around the sculptures and their architectural design.

Jean-Luc Moulène, Body, Guyancourt, October 2011

A series of ticketed public tours of Sculpture in the City will be available via Art in the City. Please click here for more information. There will also be two tours of this temporary urban sculpture park on 27 and 28 (1pm - 2pm) June as part of the London Festival of Architecture. Click here to find out more.

Whether you're surprised by a chance encounter with a sculpture on a latte-run, or decide to see them all in one lunch break, this outdoor exhibition is a great opportunity to get out of the office and make the most of London's outdoor art.