Patti Smith performs nightly on Piccadilly Circus screen for CIRCA

Every evening at 8:21 PM, Patti Smith appears on a massive advertising screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, performing two-and-a-half-minute recitals and musical performances. This is part of CIRCA, a platform founded by artist Josef O'Connor that aims to bring art to the streets amid pandemic restrictions. Following the success of the first show launched in October 2020 with 30 films by Ai Weiwei, Smith now takes over the digital stage, which is also streamable via circa.art. For January, she created the installation 'A New Year,' combining music and poetry, including 'The Cup' dedicated to Greta Thunberg's 18th birthday. Her inaugural performance at midnight on New Year's Eve drew over one million viewers to the CIRCA website. A forthcoming performance on January 20 coincides with the US presidential inauguration. The installation features rare selections of Smith's poetry from the last 50 years, including early verses from 1972, alongside works by artists who influenced her: Arthur Rimbaud, Bob Dylan, Antonin Artaud, William Blake, and the Rolling Stones. Smith also produced four limited-edition prints to support the UK cultural sector, hard-hit by COVID-19. She learned to use her computer camera to film herself reading poetry, calling it her contribution to technology.