Illuminated River, Bay Lights Artist Plans to Light 15 Bridges in Central London Along the River Thames

Illuminated River Leo Villareal

Leo Villareal, the artist who created The Bay Lights (previously), a large-scale LED installation on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, has taken this brilliant idea across the pond with Illuminated River.

Villareal is planning large scale LED installations for each of central London’s bridges along the River Thames in order to visually connect them through illumination. As of this date, four (London Bridge, Cannon Street Railway Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Millennium Bridge) of the 15 planned bridges have been LED illuminated.

The Illuminated River will be a long term art commission on an unprecedented scale: a scheme to light central London’s bridges along the River Thames. It will transform the capital with a unified light installation across central London’s bridges that will connect, celebrate and capture the spirit of the Thames and its diverse communities.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.