Design

A Festival of Light Transforms London Into a Canvas

See the generally dignified Westminster Abbey transmuted into a riot of a kaleidoscopic color.
Patrice Warrener's "The Light of the Spirit" illuminates Westminster Abbey from January 14-17.REUTERS/Toby Melville

The first Lumiere Festival, a celebration of light and art from the British production company Artichoke, first took place in the northern UK city of Durham in 2009. After a stop in the Northern Irish city of Derry, Lumiere is now hitting the big time: It’s arrived in the capital city, ready to brighten London’s dark, dreary, rain-spitting winter evenings with four days of strange and dazzling art.

The festival runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. January 14-17, and features over 30 works spread across the busy downtown areas of Piccadilly, Regent Street, and St James's; Trafalgar Square and Westminster; Mayfair; and King's Cross.