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National Gallery to find 200 creative influencers for Bicentenary celebration 

A network of digital creatives will be created, with a selected 20 to work on a piece from within the Gallery

The National Gallery is to create a network of UK-based digital creative influencers as part of its Bicentenary celebration, NG200.

Applications have opened for digital creators to make ‘digital content’ which responds to its collection, exhibitions, building, and day-to-day activities.

Those selected will be named a Creative Collaborator, or will join the Gallery’s newly created 200 Creators Network.

Applicants are asked to have a strong existing social media presence, with either a minimum of 50k subscribers on YouTube; 50k followers on TikTok and 1m likes on their account; or 100K followers on Instagram.

The gallery said it wants to “collaborate with creators whose communities are interested in any number of topics, niches, and themes, and these don’t need to be based around art.”

From the applications, a shortlist of 50 will be invited to an Ideas Lab event in October at the Gallery, where they will work with Gallery staff to develop a final pitch.

Twenty of this shortlist will be chosen to be Creative Collaborators, each receiving a fee and access to the Gallery to inform and shape their content, including time with curators, scientists, conservators, and out-of-hours visits to the Gallery.

The broader 200 Creators Network will also be selected, each receiving a one-year Gallery Membership for its Bicentenary year, which will include access to the Van Gogh and Siena exhibitions plus Members events, and access to redisplayed collection from May 2025 after its Sainsbury Wing reopens.

The 200 creators will be invited to a launch event on 2 July 2024 with social media platform workshops, collection tours, and insights from experts across the Gallery.

Lawrence Chiles, Head of Digital Services at the National Gallery, said the 200 Creators network “is a fantastic way to see and share the creativity of the nation and we are excited to see the range of responses to help celebrate the National Gallery and its collection.”