London artists create tube poster campaign after Hockney goes viral

AN online campaign is urging Sadiq Khan to showcase the work of “struggling” local artists on the London Underground after an iPad creation by David Hockney caught the attention of the internet.

Hockney’s controversial piece was the first of a series of major art projects launched as part of Let’s Do London, a £7 million programme aimed at bringing in domestic tourism. However, Laura Nevill, from Wanstead, east London, said the artwork commissioned for Piccadilly Circus was a “missed opportunity” to support artists who have struggled during the pandemic.

She has now started an online campaign which dozens of other creatives have since joined.

Ms Nevill began by replacing

Hockney’s art, which features a bright yellow circle with Piccadilly Circus written across the centre, with a mock-up of her own work as a tube station poster.

“I think we should get Sadiq Khan to use the #LetsDoLondon campaign to highlight actual London artists who have incredible talents and important messages to showcase,” she said on Twitter.