About us

Emma Kay © 2004

London Underground (LU) has been a pioneer in commissioning and presenting art and design since 1908 and Art on the Underground both reflects and builds on this tradition, creating a new legacy of contemporary art for the 20th Century.

A century ago, Managing Director Frank Pick began commissioning leading artists such as Man Ray, Edward McKnight Kauffer and Graham Sutherland to work on innovative poster campaigns. Today, iconic designs such as Harry Beck’s groundbreaking Tube map and the distinctive blue and red station signs are recognised the world over.

Since 2000, Art on the Underground has been working with artists to produce and present new artworks to enhance and enrich the journeys of millions on the Tube every day.

In order to achieve our vision of producing world class art for a world class Tube, Art on the Underground delivers a high calibre contemporary art programme that directly engages with and responds to the unique audience and environment of LU.

We work with artists that reflect the diversity and international importance of London, from those emerging at the start of promising careers to established and internationally significant artists with a reputation for producing ground-breaking and influential works of art.

We employ a broad and flexible range of project models in many locations across the Tube network, for example the large-scale ‘station-sized’ commissions that appear in sites such as Gloucester Road station for a year at a time and, by contrast, the well-loved pocket Tube map cover artworks, each only 7.5cm wide but reaching 15 million customers a year.

The LU heritage and unique environment are subjects of long-term fascination for artists, staff and customers. We commission new works that link this heritage to the present day, connecting the organisation’s exceptional history with an impressive future.

This site provides information and images of our current and forthcoming projects, as well as a comprehensive archive of projects produced over the past few years.

For more information about our Art on the Underground programme, please email art@tube.tfl.gov.uk.

To see some a range of posters and other work commissioned by London Underground over the past 100 years, please visit the London Transport Museum website.