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Painted live over the weekend of the Great Exhibition Road Festival, Paint Lab saw ten mural artists explore and interpret ten areas of cutting-edge Imperial research, and is now on display at Imperial's White City campus.

The  (which took place on 6 and 7 June 2026) is an annual celebration of all things science and art, uniting the disciplines that are sometimes thought of as disparate in fun and creative ways. This year, visitors could explore star formation through the medium of Bollywood dance, sharpen up their sewing while crafting a squishy robot, and dive into mathematic concepts via the centuries-old art of Ebru marbling.  

Paint Lab is truly special—not least because, for many of the artists, it was their first opportunity to engage with scientists and explore science as a theme. It’s also rare to witness artworks taking shape in real time. Throughout the festival, visitors were able to chat with the artists about their work and the inspiration behind it, sometimes even contributing a few brushstrokes themselves. This kind of two-way engagement perfectly embodies the spirit of the Festival, and we’re delighted that the final pieces are now being showcased again on another Imperial campus. James Romero Senior Public Engagement Programmes Manager

Paint Lab mirrors this mission to interweave science with art by matchmaking ten Imperial researchers with ten local mural artists. After learning more about their researcher's area of expertise, the artists reflect their findings from these conversations in a design which is then brought to life on a gigantic canvas over the Festival weekend. Co-curated by Imperial's Public Engagement team and  Paint Lab has been a staple of the Great Exhibition Road Festival's jam-packed programme for four years now. 

This year's pieces covered a range of subjects, such as exploring Cell Painting with floral motifs, humanising AI's understanding of our bodies' movements, and distilling temporal mapping through penguins in hard hats. All ten artworks are now available to view at Imperial's White City north campus, just outside the School of Public Health. 

If you're not able to stop by the White City campus to see the murals for yourself, be sure to visit the  to see all ten of the artworks and their interpretations.