The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London, is celebrating its 200th birthday this year.
It is holding several initiatives to mark the occasion, including a collaboration with 200 social media creators from across the UK, This will celebrate the gallery as a beacon of creativity.
There will also be a redisplay of the entire National Gallery Collection and even British Airways’ in-flight entertainment featuring National Treasures paintings and features about women artists.
Perhaps the most spectacular of all the initiatives will be the venue illuminated with artwork projections. These will bring the inside of the building to the outside and tell the story of the Gallery’s 200-year history.
The dazzling event will feature narrations from gallery staff in eight-minute shows held over two hours.
How to watch the National Gallery being lit up for its 200th birthday
The event, which is free and unticketed, takes place from 9pm on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11.
Music and other events will be held inside the gallery, although tickets are fully booked. Jools Holland will perform alongside DJs, talks, bars, and creative workshops.
Other events include a free talk called “Collecting histories: Tales from the National Gallery” between 6pm and 7pm on Thursday, May 9.
"On the eve of our 200th birthday, celebrate the unexpected, exciting and lesser-known histories of your National Gallery with Dr Susanna Avery-Quash," the National Gallery says on its website. “Susanna, Senior Research Curator in the History of Collecting, will share some intriguing archival materials and explore the histories of buying, collecting and displaying that they reveal.”
An archive show-and-tell NG200 Members' tour also takes place on Friday, May 10. Visitors can learn about "the history of the Gallery through momentous acquisitions, handwritten ransom notes, and beautifully illustrated drawings of the building's architecture”.
Visit the National Gallery’s website here for more details about the 200th birthday events.
