Trust New Art exhibitions and events

Art installation at Nunnington Hall Play Video

Many of our places were built with art at their heart. Since 2009, Trust New Art has been continuing this important creative legacy by connecting people to our places through contemporary arts.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, our arts programme includes visual arts, crafts, architecture, performance, writing and immersive installations. So far, we’ve worked with more than 300 artists to create new work inspired by the spirit of our places. The contemporary art will take you to unexplored areas, reveal hidden stories and help you see our places in different ways.

This programme is supported by partnerships with Arts Council England and Arts Council of Wales. We regularly collaborate with arts organisations to commission and present work of the highest quality. Find out how to get involved here.

Discover what’s happening at a place near you… 

East of England
MOTHER... artwork at Wicken Fen, inspired by traditional fen hayricks

MOTHER…: Studio Morison at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire 

Experience this sculptural pavilion, which provides a new space in which you can contemplate nature and read or write. MOTHER… has been thatched locally and its form is an interpretation of the remarkable hayricks that were once found dotted around the surrounding countryside. This architectural space reframes our experience of the landscape of Wicken Fen, the sky, light and materials around us. Part of the region-wide arts commissioning programme, New Geographies.

Until end of summer 2020
Midlands
Dudmaston Ben Wigley Hart of the Woods Dudmaston Shropshire

Hart of the Wood: Benjamin Wigley at Dudmaston, Shropshire 

Embark on a folkloric, visual journey through Dudmaston’s woodland. Through song, film and performance, Benjamin Wigley explores the practices and traditions of woodland workers and the presence of the mystical Green Man. Three hand-cranked projectors – kinetoscopes – will be placed along the Explorer Trail in Comer Woods.

From 20 June 2019
A girl paints the wooden slates of a lifesize exhibition box

Do it Different: Morgan Tipping at The Workhouse, Southwell 

Connect with the experiences of others through The Factory Art School - the result of Morgan Tipping’s co-creation work with diverse creatives to make a new kind of art school at The Workhouse. She collaborated with people of a range of abilities, including physical and those on the autistic spectrum. The open studio has been transformed into an exhibition showing a range of artwork made through visual, sonic and movement-based forms of expression.

From 8 February 2020
Garden installation at Berrington Hall

Look! Look! Look!: Heather and Ivan Morrison at Berrington Hall, Herefordshire 

Step into Heather and Ivan Morrison’s contemporary pavilion. This major new work takes inspiration from the Georgian tradition of temporary structures used for shelter, entertaining, dining, reading or illicit meetings. The pavilion marks the start of the restoration of Berrington’s Walled Garden, taking it back to its Georgian heyday.

Extended into 2020
Croome What is Home

What is Home: Kashif Nadim Chaudry at Croome, Worcestershire 

Artist Kashif Nadim Chaudry’s new installation What Is Home is inspired by Croome’s history as a residential Boys School. Working with ex-pupils and children in-care Chaudry examined the question ‘what is home’, to create his new moving installation showcasing real-life stories through personal objects.

Until 3 July 2020
From ‘If Pairing were Power’ by Faye Claridge at Dudmaston

If Pairing were Power: Faye Claridge at Dudmaston, Shropshire 

Contemplate childhood in all its complexities through this child-led, collaborative art project at Dudmaston. As part of this exhibition Faye Claridge has developed replica costumes that animate the 17th century dresses worn by two unknown girls depicted in an intriguing painting from the collection.

From 14 April 2019
Catherine Aitken working on new artwork at Packwood House

Prospect Room: Catherine Aitken & David Murphy at Packwood House, Warwickshire  

Get closer to Packwood’s intriguing creator Baron Ash in the Prospect Room, an architectural destination in the landscape created by designer Catherine Aitken and artist David Murphy. This is a contemplative space between inside and outside that explores the dynamic between Packwood’s house and garden. Filtering light and sound it will play with your senses, presenting new ways of looking at Packwood's ever-changing scenery.

Extended until October 2020
One of the individual frames painted over by the Balsall Heath Community

Specular Reflecular: with Juneau Projects at Moseley Road Baths, Birmingham 

Surround yourself in a community’s celebration of the reopening of the Gala Pool at Moseley Road Baths, which has been closed since 2003. Together with hundreds of participants, Juneau Projects have created an immersive artwork rooted in the local community and reflecting the essence of the baths as a present, past and future community space.

5 – 28 March 2020

North
Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir

Spherical White with Diamond: Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir at Formby, Liverpool 

Immerse yourself in the natural world at this extraordinary site. Twisting and turning through woodlands, dunes and coastline, explore the meeting point of human and natural sounds – a sonic memory-box where footpaths become recollections, a shipping map morphs into poetry and Formby becomes an instrument within a manufactured soundscape. This new artwork offers a chance to stop a while, to sense, meditate and experience the natural world afresh.

27 - 28 March 2020
Limelight at Lindisfarne Castle

Limelight: Heinrich & Palmer at Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland 

Embark on an imaginative journey through Limelight at Lindisfarne Castle, which makes use of a combination of lighting, video projection and sound. This installation has been inspired by the transience of the Castle and the island’s dramatic Northumberland Coast setting.

26 March – 1 November 2020
Coming to Studley Royal water garden

folly!: Steve Messam at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, Yorkshire 

Uncover the story of the water garden through this year’s folly! Steve Messam’s fantastical outdoor sculpture reveals a new perspective, that is bigger and bolder than ever. The artist has drawn inspiration from a mystery folly: a 16m-high funerary pyramid, to create this work.

1 May - 1 November 2020
Art installation at Nunnington Hall

Change in Attitudes: Layla Khoo Change at Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire 

Ponder the impact of game hunting on the population of endangered species. In response to ongoing conservation work on the big cat skins at Nunnington, Layla Khoo has created 5,000 small porcelain rhino horns, each representing one of the remaining black rhinos left in the world. You can take one home as a souvenir, but the moral dilemma is that each one taken cannot be replaced and will leave fewer for others to experience.

Until November 2020
South East
Casting Light, a new installation for the Red Room at Mottisfont

Casting Light: Heinrich and Palmer at Mottisfont, Hampshire 

Take an imaginative journey through the architectural layers of Mottisfont’s past. Artists Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer have used a combination of light, 3D laser scanning technology, video projection and sound to make Casting Light, a new installation for the Red Room at Mottisfont.

11 January – April 2020
Please Sit at Fenton House hero image

Please Sit: Various designers at Fenton House, London 

Pull up a chair and take in Fenton House from a new perspective. Gitta Gschwendtner invited five fellow designers to create seating in response to this 17th-century house in Hampstead. Designers Gitta Gschwendtner, Carl Clerkin, Frith Kerr, Maisie Broadhead, Michael Marriott and Nina Tolstrup invite you to slow down, sit down and look again in this exciting collision of old and new.

12 September 2019 - Spring 2020
Anthony Denney. Image: Gordon Bishop

The Denney Edition: Celebrating an icon of 20th century style at Rainham Hall, London 

Uncover the pages of Anthony Denney's glamourous life and character through an inventive exhibition programme. Inspired by the Vogue photographer and former tenant of Rainham Hall, The Decorators have reinterpreted the place as if it were a magazine; translating the areas of fashion, jewellery, arts, interiors, food, gardening, and travel onto its spaces.

29 June 2019 – June 2021
Mark Wallinger's The Writ in Water installation at Runnymede, Surrey

Writ in Water, Mark Wallinger in collaboration with Studio Octopi at Runnymede, Surrey 

Reflect and re-imagine at Runnymede through a new public artwork - Writ in Water. At a site where over 800 years ago the feudal barons forced King John to seal the Magna Carta, Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger, in collaboration with architectural practice Studio Octopi, has created a tranquil space offering you the chance to consider the ongoing significance and influences of Magna Carta. Commissioned in association with Situations.

Ongoing
The Jurors artwork by Hew Locke, at Runnymede in Surrey

The Jurors: Hew Locke at Runnymede, Surrey 

Take a seat in this ancient landscape where the Magna Carta was signed over 800 years ago. Beautifully created with imagery, Hew Locke’s 12 bronze jurors’ chairs invite you to reflect on the histories and issues shown, and to debate the meaning of justice.

Long term installation
Standen Bothy by Will Shannon Mezzanine and Stained Glass window

Bothy: Will Shannon at Standen, West Sussex 

Tucked away on Standen’s sandstone rocks, Will Shannon’s Bothy is a space to shelter, reflect and create. Inspired by the pioneering principles of Standen’s Arts and Crafts heritage, Shannon has learnt new skills to create each component of the folly-like structure.

Long term installation
South West
Coloured cast made by Rachel Dein

Through the Seasons: Rachael Dein at Hidcote, Gloucestershire 

Witness the seasonal changes at Hidcote through four moments suspended in time. Rachel Dein’s delicate imprints of seasonal flowers selected from Hidcote’s garden have been made using a plaster cast technique. Her series of casts provide an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the intricate, shifting beauty of our seasons.

Until March 2020

Wales
John Abell in residence at Dinefwr

Becca and her Children: John Abell at Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire 

Encounter the rich and tumultuous history of Newton House, Dinefwr and the Rebecca Riots (1839-44) through John Abell’s new work that examines the daily life, beliefs and camaraderie of the Rioters as they rose up in protest against the Turnpike Trusts and the introduction of road tolls. Discover the artist’s series of paintings, linocuts and etchings made during his residency at Newton House in 2019.

17 January – 26 April 2020

Celebrating 10 years of Trust New Art

The first decade of Trust New Art has been marked by bold experimentation which challenged assumptions and gave alternative perspectives. More than 150 of our sites have been involved and we’ve worked with many renowned creatives, including Lubaina Himid, sculptor Antony Gormley, pop artist Sir Peter Blake and writer Robert Macfarlane.

The artworks have uncovered forgotten stories, stimulated debates and helped to connect people with places.

Trust New Art 10th anniversary Play Video
Trust New Art guidebook

Trust New Art guidebook 

We’ve a new book celebrating the work of Trust New Art, featuring 30 of the programme’s most experimental, thought-provoking and poignant creations of the last 10 years.

Buy now

Get involved with Trust New Art

There are many ways to get closer to Trust New Art, whether through volunteering at property, visiting a project, or perhaps you are interested in developing a partnership or working with us as a Trust New Art artist. 

The Trust New Art programme is planned up to 3 or 4 years in advance. Projects can be initiated by our own teams, or through collaborations with other museums, galleries, universities, professional organisations and direct invitations to artists and curators.

We tend to work in an active commissioning way, rather than responding to proposals, unless they are of exceptional quality and closely align with our aims and objectives for that particular place. Therefore, on the whole, we do not encourage artists to submit proposals for review. Due to the large volume of proposals received, we can only follow up in exceptional circumstances and we are not able to return unsolicited material.

The majority of our commissions are selected through an open-call process, and we advertise these through our website, Twitter and Facebook feeds, and through Arts Jobs, Arts Council England’s opportunities board. If you are an artist and would like to hear about opportunities, please join our artist mailing list.

To get in touch email trustnewart@nationaltrust.org.uk.