A rare, free opportunity to sprawl on the floor of one of the most famous galleries in London
Walking out of Charing Cross Station I was greeted by one of the most famous sights in the world, with Trafalgar Square to one side and the Strand to the other. It was therefore pretty special to be able to cross the road to the National Portrait Gallery and see a sign reading ‘Private Event.’ The doors opened at 6.30pm, and only people on the guest list were allowed in.
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We had a polaroid of us to take home
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This was the setting for the BP Portrait Award: Next
Generation Young People’s Private View. It allowed 14-21 year olds the
opportunity to have the gallery to themselves and view the entries of the BP Portrait Award 2017 for free. The
collection represents ‘the best in contemporary portrait painting’ ranging from
studies of friends and family to intimate depictions of famous faces. It’s a
display that has been running since 22nd June until 24th
September, yet on the evening of the 8th August, it was the backdrop
of an exclusive event.
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| We were given an itinerary of the evening |
After signing in, we were taken into the entrance hall for a
bit of milling around and drinking of mocktails. This is why I’d advise you go
with friends, as the reception area filled with young people all standing
around and chatting means it can be quite daunting to go alone. We were
welcomed by the Youth Forum, the group of teens who run events like these at
the NPG. We were encouraged to sketch, chat, eat, and pretty much make the most
of the evening. There was even an artist working on an iPad who sketched us,
the portrait being projected onto the wall behind.
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| Our portrait from the Drawing Booth projected onto a wall |
We could then enter the collection itself. We were given paper and pencils to encourage us to sit around and sketch, as well as opportunities to enter competitions and win prizes from Cass Art (a great retailer for art supplies- so a really impressive deal.) Everyone got stuck in, sitting in the middle of the floor cross-hatching away. It’s the type of thing these evenings are designed for, as you wouldn’t be able to just plonk yourself down during a normal gallery visit.
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| People were eager to get sketching straight away |
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| Competitions encouraged us to pull pieces apart and sketch them |
Live music –from Murdo Mitchell, William Adam Congo Doran,
and DJ Aliyah- also made for a unique
atmosphere. As the night is completely free, it’s an impressive feature that
contributes to the event feeling exclusive and special. I’d have to point out,
however, that the staff were a bit eager when it came to drawing our attention
to this. They came up to us almost every 5 minutes it seemed to tell us
‘there’s live music in this room,’ when it was quite obvious we knew this
already as the live music was the loudest thing in the entire gallery.
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| Live music in one of the gallery rooms |
Artist Khushna Sulaman-Butt was also a great addition to the
night, as she stood in front of her magnificent painting to tell us about the
thought process and techniques behind it. Fellow artist Clara Drummond was also
around giving talks and running activities to inspire us to pursue portraiture.
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| Artist Khushna Sulaman-Butt with her Society |
As for the portraits themselves, they were largely impressive,
absorbing in their hidden messages and the motivations behind the artists
selecting their sitters. My personal favourites included The Levinsons by Rupert Alexander which surely was inspired by
Velazquez’s iconic Les Meninas. Although
I’d find it harder to vocalise my reasons, I also loved Pen Vogler by John Burke, perhaps because of the incredibly
realistic yellow dress contrasted with the quite cartoonish books, which makes
it seem like a New Objectivity painting.
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| The Levinsons by Rupert Alexander |
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| Pen Vogler by John Burke |
Other highlights included asking us to take a sharpie and a
post-it note and draw two people standing next to us, which allowed for more
mingling between the guests and also encouraged us to be more confident with quick
sketches, and the importance of simply getting lines onto the page.
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| The display of our sharpie drawings |
It was a night that signified how much the NPG value its
young visitors, and, as young people, it is important for us to take up such
opportunities and show we can participate in the art world. If you can’t get to
life drawing classes, sketching from artwork is the next best thing, but it can
be intimidating to do this on a normal visit, but it isn’t scary at all when
surrounded by other students. If I had one criticism it would be that there
wasn’t enough vegetarian food available, but maybe I’d just advise you eat
before you go, really. Overall, it’s an event I would recommend for next year,
as it was a rare and free
opportunity to sprawl on the floor of one of the most famous galleries in
London.
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| We covered the floor, with pencils and paper spread out everywhere |
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