Enter for a Chance to Win a Night at London’s National Gallery!

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The museum is celebrating the reopening of its Sainsbury Wing, as well as a major refresh of its collection, with an overnight experience for one lucky visitor

Sarah Kuta – Daily Correspondent

April 10, 2025 1:06 p.m.

The National Gallery in London is set to unveil its renovated Sainsbury Wing, which has been under refurbishment for the past two years. As part of this celebration, the museum is offering a unique opportunity for one enthusiastic art lover to spend a night surrounded by its notable artwork.

This sleepover is especially significant as it aligns with the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery. In light of this milestone, the museum is rearranging its permanent collection, allowing the fortunate winner an exclusive preview of the exhibit titled “CC Land: The Wonder of Art.”

To enter for a chance to win this unique experience, participants must be at least 18 years old and subscribed to the National Gallery’s email newsletter. The contest will remain accessible until April 28, when a random winner will be selected.

The overnight stay is scheduled for May 9, just prior to the official reopening of the Sainsbury Wing to the public. The evening will start with dinner for two at Locatelli, the gallery’s new dining establishment. After dinner, the winner will embark on a private tour of the “CC Land: The Wonder of Art” exhibit, guided by Christine Riding, the director of collections and research at the National Gallery.

Gabriele Finaldi, the museum’s director, emphasized that the bicentenary serves as an excellent opportunity to revamp how the stories of the paintings are conveyed. He mentioned to the Guardian’s Nadia Khomami that the sleepover will allow a visitor to experience the transformed spaces of the National Gallery in a very personal way.

As night falls, the winner will rest in a bed positioned between the newly refreshed Sainsbury Wing and the main part of the museum. The next morning, they will enjoy breakfast and some quiet moments among the artworks before the Sainsbury Wing opens its doors at 10 a.m.

This sleepover is not an isolated event for the National Gallery, which previously welcomed visitors overnight, such as during its “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” exhibition earlier this year that featured a 24-hour event. Similar all-night openings have occurred, including during the “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan” show in 2012.

The Sainsbury Wing, originally added to the gallery in 1991, is undergoing redesign by architect Annabelle Selldorf from New York. Her goal is to create a more inviting entrance to the museum while enhancing natural light within the space. However, the redesign has sparked debate, with original co-designer Denise Scott Brown commenting that the new design resembles a “circus clown wearing a tutu.”

In parallel, the museum is undertaking a comprehensive redisplay of its collection, one of the most extensive updates in its recent history. The curatorial team is collaborating with a lighting designer to enhance the gallery ambiance, while also refurbishing flooring and updating interior aesthetics, as noted by Art Newspaper’s Louis Jebb.

The new display will include over 1,000 works from approximately 400 artists, showcasing nearly half of the entire collection. Each of the 65 main-floor galleries will feature a refreshed color scheme, new introductory panels detailing the artworks, and insights into the gallery’s design and architecture.

“We are rethinking the collection and the way it’s presented, but also the architecture and the spaces suggesting certain ways of displaying works of art,” Riding stated in an interview with Art Newspaper. “We’re also using design to enhance gallery upgrades.”

Editors’ note, April 10, 2025: This story has been updated to clarify information about entering the competition.

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www.smithsonianmag.com