Jeremy Deller to close National Gallery’s bicentenary celebrations with ‘first of its kind’ parade and party

Londons’ National Gallery will round off its bicentenary celebrations with a huge public event featuring artist Jeremy Deller, billed as the largest of its kind to take place in the UK to date. Taking over Trafalgar Square on 26 July, The Triumph of Art will draw on UK folklore and traditions—such as the British fondness for tea and cake—and Deller will work with a wealth of collaborators and partner institutions.

The National Gallery describes the day as a “free, family friendly celebration with contributions from all four nations”, which will culminate in “processions, performances, parades and parties”. There will also be a new exhibition of work from Deller’s own archive, which includes works by emerging artists.

In an interview last year, Deller told The Art Newspaper: “It’s a big fête-/bacchanal-type event with performance of some description and with live music in the square. It will be free entry—something that everyone can go to.” He added: “I’m interested in pushing the envelope of what is acceptable to be called art, who makes it and what are its limits, if there are any. What exists on the fringes is always interesting to me.”

Emily Stone, National Gallery curator, says in a statement: “The Triumph of Art is a celebration of creativity, making and impressive bodies—a blend of the ancient and the contemporary— which can only be truly experienced live, eventually becoming its own mythology in the stories, images and memories of those who were present. The project is really the first of its kind in the UK.”

As part of the bicentenary project, Deller worked with organisations across the UK to develop standalone projects, elements of which will be seen during London’s July celebration.

In Derry/Londonderry The Triumph of Music took place 19 April. The event documented the importance of the early rave scene in the north of Ireland and the risks people took to party. It featured the group The Armagh Rhymers, who created a new set of “rave characters” in partnership with young artists based at The Playhouse.

Elsewhere, on 24 May, students from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design will unveil performances, costumes, staging and activities inspired by classical mythology, drawing on a legendary student party known as The Revels.

In Llandudno, Wales, The Carreg Ateb: Vision or Dream? project is scheduled to take place across the solstice weekend (21 June at Mostyn; 22 June at Bryn Celli Ddu). Young people working with the Welsh theatre company Frân Wen have developed their own mythological characters who will emerge from Manod slate quarry where the National Gallery’s collection was stored for safekeeping during the Second World War.

In Plymouth, Hello Sailor takes place on 5 July. Beginning with a procession from The Box to Tinside Lido, people will be able to observe an installation from the roadside as Hello Sailor starts to take shape across the course of the day.