NG200 'The Alchemist's Feast' at the National Gallery

Issued June 2023

'The Alchemist’s Feast' (Thursday 23 June 2022) is the inaugural summer party and fundraiser for the National Gallery’s Bicentenary campaign.

The National Gallery Bicentenary

On 10 May 2024 the National Gallery will be 200 years old, marking two centuries of bringing people and paintings together. For 12 months, we will celebrate our past and look forward to our future with a year-long festival of art, creativity and imagination which sets the tone for our third century.

We invite everyone to join the celebration as part of an ambitious programme of events and exhibitions that extends from the Gallery into Trafalgar Square, across the nation, and to the world through a series of online and virtual experiences.

At its heart is a celebration of the nation’s masterpieces, and a re-dedication of the Gallery to the people who own it – the citizens of this country and all who hold it dear. NG200 will include a series of capital projects to make the building fit for purpose in its third century, accompanied by an unprecedented and diverse public programme.

We will celebrate the National Gallery as a centre of excellence and world-class scholarship, funding strategic investment in our environmental, organisational and financial sustainability that will underpin the Gallery's long-term evolution.

The total cost of the NG200 Programme is £95 million, and the Gallery is delighted to announce it already has confirmed commitments of £50 million – with 'The Alchemist’s Feast' marking the start of the campaign to raise the rest of the funds.

The Alchemist’s Feast

'The Alchemist’s Feast' is a unique party, which combines the vision of a Creative Director with the Gallery’s great paintings, offering guests a novel take on the Collection.

For our inaugural event, our Creative Director is Patrick Kinmonth – an artist and designer who has been hailed as one of the most creative and mercurial figures in contemporary art, embracing theatre, installation and art. His outstanding contribution has defined an international career of more than 40 years, working in the world’s most esteemed museums and opera houses, from the Metropolitan Museum, New York to the Louvre, from La Scale to Rodeo Drive.

When moving through the Gallery, video mapping, installations, performances, animations and a landscape of sounds will be used to create new focus and new relationships between the paintings and guests. 'The Alchemist’s Feast' will be just that ... a transformative feast for all the senses.

We are grateful to Mrs Aud Jebsen, for her lead support of 'the Alchemist’s Feast'. We extend our gratitude to Burberry, our supporting partner. Additional thanks go to Nyetimer, MarGin and Amadei chocolates.

There is also an After-Party for 'The Alchemist’s Feast', sponsored by Burberry, held at Marks Club.

The Guests

Celebrity guests attending 'The Alchemist’s Feast' include,

Sienna Miller
Damian Lewis
Charles Dance
Bill Nighy
Dominic Cooper
Jamie Dornan
Ellie Bamber
Lucy Boynton
Jim Broadbent
Dougray Scott
Gwendoline Christie
Giles Deacon
Olga Kurylenko
Tom Hughes
Jasper Conran
Benedict Wong
Claire Forlani
Olympia of Greece
Sandy Powell

We are enormously grateful to our Event Committee

Dounia Nadar (Chair)
Fiorella Ballabio
Sabine Getty
Katrin Henkel
Alison Ross Green
Harriet Clapham
Karen Groos
Rebecca Marks
Marissa zu Bentheim
Rusty Elvidge
Astrid Harbord
Clare McKeon
Victoria Elvidge
Hannah Heerema
Hugo Nathan

Notes to editors

Patrick Kinmonth’s work has spanned creative direction for fashion and portraiture shoots at British Vogue, and creative consultancy for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, designing the exhibition 'Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century' and consulting on the renovation of the Wrightsman Galleries.

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, Cézanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The Gallery’s key objectives are to enhance and care for the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Admission free.

More information at nationalgallery.org.uk

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