The UK’s best photography is on the street

The UK showcases its best outdoor work. From Van Gogh to Bellini, twenty replicas of the National Gallery’s most famous exhibits have been installed in Trafalgar Square. The initiative is part of a plan to bring visitors back to central London after lockdown.

“The idea came from the COVID-19 experience, from the lockdown, the idea of ​​bringing the groups that were upside down into Trafalgar Square. I think the National Gallery has obviously been a part of the Trafalgar Square story for nearly 200 years. But I think what we really want to do is have more interaction between us and the people who are walking around this famous part of London,” explains Kristen Riding, Curator of the National Gallery.

In addition to attracting visitors to the British capital, organizers hope the open-air exhibition will help the public connect with the paintings hidden behind the museum’s grand facade. In addition to viewing the famous paintings, visitors can try to make their own paintings. Accompanying the pop-up exhibition is Sketch on the Square, a program of daily outdoor art activities.

“It’s very easy to go through this place, just come and take pictures, but I think you have to stop and enjoy, you just have to experience it. I don’t know, it’s really good weather outside, so. You never know what’s going to end. Go out in that turn, ‘ says Ionella, a tourist with charcoal in her hand, as she looks at her practically empty canvas.