Tower Museum welcomes National Gallery Art Road Trip to Derry
23 May 2024
The Tower Museum, in partnership with the Greater Shantallow Community Arts, is set to host a special ten-day event that celebrates the arts and creativity while on its nationwide tour.
The Art Road Trip, organised and facilitated by the National Gallery, London, will travel right across the UK from 2024 until 2025.
The project will be see ten days of exciting arts and crafts activities and workshops running from Monday 20th-Friday 31st May in locations right across the city, including the Greater Shantallow Arts and the Guildhall. The aim of the overall events is to create community-led arts projects, designing events for people with the least access to creative opportunities and the arts.
Creative sessions for all the family will be hosted from artists and educators of the National Gallery as well as workshops and a mobile art studio on display, bringing art and ideas inspired by the National Gallery collection to young people in Derry. Attendees will have the opportunity to unleash their own creative side around relevant themes such as the River Foyle, the Atlantic Ocean, ships, people and trade as well as environmental issues.
Bernadette Walsh, Archivist at the Tower Museum, said they were delighted to welcome the team from the National Gallery London to the city as part of their UK-wide tour.
“We’re really excited to host the team from London and help facilitate the ten-day programme alongside our friends at the Great Shantallow Community Arts organisation. This will be a fantastic opportunity for any budding artists or families to get involved and immerse themselves in the artistic themes already established here in our city and district. There will be a strong focus on what we already have here, from the River Foyle, the vast Atlantic Ocean as well as our history and culture with our background in ships and trading and everything in between.”
Anna Murray, National Partnerships Programmer, said: “’Art Road Trip' is an exciting opportunity for the National Gallery in London to develop strong relationships and collaborate with new kinds of partners and inspiring creativity and joy through a collection of treasured paintings that belong to us all. This project is about inclusivity, making new ways for people to engage with the National Gallery, bringing art activities to their doorsteps. We are so excited to be coming to Derry and looking forward to making meaningful connections between people and paintings, spark dialogue, and create lasting memories that resonate with individuals and communities alike.”
Call in to the Guildhall on Saturday 25th May between 11-4pm to take part in some art activities all based around the River Foyle!
The project will be delivered in partnership with the Greater Shantallow Community Arts, which aims to promote artists, cultural activity, grow audiences, increase participation in the arts and provide opportunity for communities and individuals they might not otherwise have access to.
For more information, please visit www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/across-the-uk/art-road-trip