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National Gallery announces UK partners for bicentenary commission
Project with Jeremy Deller is gallery's first partnership with a performing arts institution
The National Gallery has announced four cultural venues – one in each UK nation – it will work with on a major art project to celebrate its bicentenary in 2025.
The Box in Plymouth, Mostyn art gallery in Llandudno, The Playhouse theatre in Derry/Londonderry, and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee will partner with the London gallery on a commission by artist Jeremy Deller.
The National Gallery said Deller will be “celebrating festivals, gatherings, and art in the public realm”.
Work on the initiative, called The Triumph of Art, will involve “close links to the communities and geography” of the four partners, it added.
Each institution will research, develop and stage a local element, before the projects come together.
Deller’s commission will culminate in July 2025 with a “major event” in London’s Trafalgar Square to bring the National Gallery’s year-long celebration to a close.
The artist has been “researching and cataloguing events on the square as a history of celebration, commemoration and demonstration,” the gallery said.
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Deller said he was “looking forward to working with partners across all four nations to create something epic to mark the gallery’s 200 years”.
The National Gallery said the scheme marks the first time it has partnered with a performing arts venue, as well as its first formal partnership with an art school or college.
Emily Stone, project curator at the National Gallery, said: “We couldn’t have found better partners to work with for this commission – they represent a fantastic combination of history and heritage, and emerging talent.
“Researching places of joy and gathering has unearthed some very exciting ideas that showcase both individuality and common ground across the UK. We’re excited to bring together local communities with an unparalleled celebration in Trafalgar Square.”
Pernille Spence, programme director for fine art at Jordanstone College, said: “We are tremendously excited to be working with the National Gallery and Jeremy Deller on this project, which will be a UK-wide celebration of art.
“This will lead to events happening here in Dundee leading up to the final events in Trafalgar Square.”