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National Gallery announces creative partners for Bicentenary Art Road Trip, 100 days before travelling art studio takes to the road

With 100 days until the start of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary year, the Gallery has today (31 January 2024) announced the 18 partners it is planning to collaborate with on the travelling art studio project - Art Road Trip. Together, the National Gallery and its partners will produce a UK-wide, year-long programme of learning activities and events that celebrate creativity and the arts.

'Art Road Trip' will offer an inspiring and inventive art studio on wheels, full of high-quality art materials, ideas and creativity. The project places special emphasis on people who have the least access to the arts and creative opportunities. The initiative seeks to champion the creativity of individuals who might otherwise feel excluded from the cultural opportunities and introduce them to their national collection.

From May 2024 to May 2025, our travelling art studio will host 200 creative public engagements and work with 40,000 people to bring art and ideas inspired by the National Gallery’s collection to the heart of their communities. This will include opportunities for local schools to take part in Take One Picture, Articulation and, our digital initiative, Keeper of Paintings, building a lasting legacy with local communities to last well beyond our Bicentenary celebrations.

The National Gallery is proud to be working with partners who are leaders in producing high-quality, community-led projects. They bring a commitment to creating opportunities for more people to enjoy and participate in the arts in their local communities. The Gallery’s Learning team is working in partnership with these organisations to develop a two-week programme that meets the needs and interests of their communities. The programme of events and activities is designed to reach people and places who otherwise would not have ready access to art, with the aim of introducing new audiences to art, the National Gallery and to their local creative opportunities near them.

'Art Road Trip' will visit each partner for two weeks and will be spending its first month in Northern Ireland, first programmed by Greater Shantallow Community Arts in Derry-Londonderry, and then Community Arts Partnership, Belfast.

Our intended partners, in order of the 'Art Road Trip' route are:

  • Greater Shantallow Community Arts, Derry-Londonderry
  • Community Arts Partnership, Belfast
  • Ideas Test, Swale and Medway
  • Marketplace, Fenland and West Suffolk
  • Create Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire
  • Glasgow Women's Library, Glasgow
  • Deveron Projects, Huntly
  • LeftCoast, Blackpool
  • Seed, Sedgemoor
  • Right Up Our Street, Doncaster
  • Cultural Spring, Sunderland and South Tyneside
  • Freshly Greated, Great Yarmouth
  • The Leap, Bradford
  • Transported, Boston and South Holland
  • Creative Black Country, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton
  • Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham

Further information on all the partners can be found below. There will also be further partners announced in Cardiff and London.

Supporting 'Art Road Trip' and the wider NG200 project, the National Gallery has also announced a public appeal to raise the final £5.8 million needed to deliver all that it intends to do to enrich peoples’ lives with art. The National Gallery is asking people to ‘give today, inspire tomorrow’ and share this chance to play a meaningful part in shaping its next 200 years. 'Art Road Trip' is a vital part of this, as it will be for many people their first experience of interacting with the National Gallery.

Anna Murray, National Partnerships Programmer, says, ‘'Art Road Trip' is an exciting opportunity for the National Gallery to develop strong relationships and collaborate with new kinds of partners. We are so pleased to be working with so many interesting partners across the UK. All our partners bring a wealth of experience and knowledge about their communities, but also lead in exiting practices of co-design, co-creation and community-led practice. Our partners are the strongest advocates for their communities and a rich source of inspiration. We can’t wait to get on the road.’

Sally Lockey, Director of Right Up Our Street, says, ‘Right Up Our Street isare very excited to be a part of 'Art Road Trip'. As a Creative People and Places project, we consult with the community to ensure that work is relevant and co-curated on a hyper local level. This opportunity means that our communities are able to work hand-in-hand with the National Gallery, influencing how a national, major institution delivers its work within Doncaster. That’s a powerful approach to working, and a strong message to our community. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome!’

Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, says, ‘When we talk about guaranteeing the future of the National Gallery for the next 200 years, it doesn’t just mean people coming through our door – it means art becoming part of people’s daily lives, and this is a vital legacy we hope the 'Art Road Trip' will help deliver for us. I am delighted we have found such dynamic partners to work with. This touring schedule helps us reach even more areas and communities of the UK and reaffirms to us what it means to be the nation’s Gallery.’

Notes to editors


Greater Shantallow Community Arts, Derry-Londonderry
Greater Shantallow Community Arts is passionate about using the transformative power of the Arts, in all its forms. As an innovative Arts charity with 25 years’ experience, they use artistic engagement, creativity, and cultural expression to enhance and inspire the lives of people within marginalised, deprived communities.

Community Arts Partnership, Belfast
Community Arts Partnership is the lead agency for the promotion, advocacy, development and delivery of community arts in Northern Ireland. Entering its 25th year of operations, CAP supports over 5,000 participants every year, in a diverse range of high-quality creative projects across Northern Ireland.

Ideas Test, Swale and Medway
Ideas Test aims to inspire pride and joy in communities across Medway and Swale through creative and collaborative activities. They bring people together through sharing and collaboration and aim to make creativity part of everyday life for absolutely everyone.

Marketplace, Fenland and West Suffolk
Marketplace co-creates with communities across the unique landscape of Fenland and Forest Heath. One of 38 Creative People and Places projects, funded by Arts Council England through the National Lottery, they explore how more people can take the lead designing, developing and participating in cultural activity right where they live.

Create Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire
A catalyst for creativity in Gloucestershire. They prioritise those who have been least served by the arts and cultural sector. Inequality and short-termism are huge barriers for people to access and enjoy creativity. So, equity and sustainable change for both people and planet underpin their work.

Glasgow Women's Library, Glasgow
Glasgow Women’s Library is the only Accredited Museum in the UK dedicated to women’s lives, histories and achievements, with a lending library, archive collections and innovative programmes of public events and learning opportunities. Based in Bridgeton in Glasgow’s East End, they deliver our programmes all over Scotland.

Deveron Projects, Huntly
Deveron Projects is a socially engaged arts organisation, based in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, since 1995. They build meaningful collaboration between artists, communities and places through the process of making art. They aim to create relationships between people and across differences, connect Huntly with the wider world, including global justice movements, and contribute to alternative and sustainable futures for their town.

LeftCoast, Blackpool
LeftCoast is a team of creatives whose collaborative practice is socially engaged, socially useful and artistically ambitious. Established in 2013, they deliver Blackpool’s Creative People and Places programme to inspire residents to take part in the arts. In 2023, LeftCoast’s community build Wash Your Words: Library & Laundry Room was RIBA shortlisted.

Seed, Sedgemoor
Seed is the Creative People & Places project for Sedgemoor, Somerset. They enable more people to participate in arts and culture by seeking out those who might not otherwise have had opportunities to explore their creativity, or experience great art. They inspire them to make their ideas and ambitions a reality.

Right Up Our Street, Doncaster
Right Up Our Street is a community-led Creative People and Places arts programme funded by Arts Council England. They bring brilliant art activities and events to the people of Doncaster. They work in partnership with Doncaster’s communities, listening to what they need and want, and co-creating an arts programme that is relevant and meaningful.

Cultural Spring, Sunderland and South Tyneside
The aim at Cultural Spring is to leave a legacy of communities engaged in the arts. They want to increase participation in arts and culture, enable more excellent art and creativity, help communities to develop and run sustainable events and workshops independently, as well as reflect on and share learning.

Freshly Greated, Great Yarmouth
Freshly Greated works closely in and with people living in neighbourhoods in the most socio-economically deprived areas of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston to work collaboratively across the region to maximise local knowledge, talent and skills, thereby strengthening the creative offer in all aspects of community life. Their approach is collaborative and enables people to lead and influence creative activity for their communities to enjoy.

The Leap, Bradford
The Leap are an Arts Council funded Creative People and Places programme and their mission is to bring arts, creativity and culture to the most marginalised individuals and communities across Bradford District. They support creativity in all its forms giving communities the chance to lead and own their own work.

Transported, Boston and South Holland
Transported is a community-focused culture programme which aims to get more people in Boston Borough and South Holland in Lincolnshire enjoying and participating in high quality arts activities. Transported is funded by Arts Council England's Creative People and Places programme and is operated by the University of Lincoln within the Centre for Culture & Creativity.

Creative Black Country, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and& Wolverhampton
Creative Black Country is a place-based programme and works with communities to explore and develop new creative projects with local people in the places where they live. Through co-design and deep engagement, CBC has been working with local communities in the Black Country since 2015 and collaborated with a network of cross-sector partners in the public, private, and voluntary sectors. The work has a local focus with regional, national, and international reach, profiling the region’s creative talent in new ways.

Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham
Tŷ Pawb is a cultural resource comprising of a market hall and arts programme based in Wrexham, north Wales. They provide space for exhibitions, workshops and events exploring civic issues, the environment, education and play. Their community is made up of market traders, families, dog-walkers, creatives, local people and tourists.

The National Gallery

The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation’s collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The collection includes works by Bellini, Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The Gallery’s key objectives are to enhance the collection, care for the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Admission free. More at nationalgallery.org.uk

Thanks to the following for their generous support of 'Art Road Trip': Kenneth C. Griffin (Lead Philanthropic Supporter), Franck and Amanda Petitgas, Henry Oldfield Trust, and Kevin and Rosemary McNeely.

Donate to NG200 at nationalgallery.org.uk/support-ng200

More information and book tickets for events at nationalgallery.org.uk

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