Trust New Art exhibitions and events

Conference for the Birds at Cherryburn, Northumberland

Many of our places were built with art at their heart and we’re continuing this important creative legacy. Since 2009, Trust New Art has been connecting people to National Trust places through contemporary arts. So far we’ve worked with over 200 artists to create new work inspired by our places.

The installations you visit might take you to unexplored areas, reveal hidden stories or help you see our places in different ways. Our arts programme includes visual arts, crafts, architecture, performance, and writing – all inspired by the spirit of our special places.

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… 

National highlights
Artists, led by Jeremy Deller, to share their creative projects

Artists explore landscapes at the forefront of social change 

Jeremy Deller, Jarvis Cocker, Bob and Roberta Smith are among the artists helping us explore how the landscapes we love brought people together to shape the history of our nation.

Discover historic landscapes full of stories
East of England
The famous illustration of a flea in Robert Hooke's Micrographia of Minute Bodies

The Edge of Things: Neville Gabie and Joan Gabie at Blickling, Norfolk 

Venture to the edge of space, language and the natural world with artists Neville Gabie and Joan Gabie. Through a series of installations and live projects the artists respond to Blickling’s nationally significant book collection, reinterpreting the 17th century thirst for knowledge in relation to our present-day grasp of the world around us.

17 May – October 2019
Curious Cabinets at Felbrigg Hall

Wild and Exotic: Gary McCann at Felbrigg Hall, Norwich 

Follow in the footsteps of Felbrigg Hall’s exotic travellers and discover wild and eccentric objects from the storerooms displayed for the first time. Theatre designer, Gary McCann, has designed four extraordinary pieces of furniture to highlight his selection of weird and wonderful objects brought back to Felbrigg from all over the world by the different generations who lived there.

Extended into 2019
Midlands
An overhead view of the Field of Play at Attingham Park

Field of Play: Walter Jack Studios at Attingham Park, Shropshire 

Discover new ways to play at Attingham as its natural play space evolves over the next few years. Over thirty linked circles are currently marked out across the entire field, creating a series of circular spaces for exploration and play – a design motif that reflects the pattern found inside the mansion. Look out for further changes, as well as ways to make your mark as Walter Jack Studios continues to develop this space.

Until end 2019
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.

10 June 2017 – 12 December 2019
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.

16 March – 3 July 2020
grayson perry battle of britain

Grayson Perry: Landscapes at Croome, Worcestershire 

Take a visual journey through Grayson Perry’s epic landscape tapestries and intricate etchings. This exhibition includes the extraordinary ‘Battle of Britain’ tapestry into which the artist has woven references to contemporary life in Britain. Fittingly, these works are displayed in Croome’s Tapestry Room, where the 18th century Gobelins tapestries once hung.

2 March – 29 September 2019
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.

October 2017 – 2019
North

A woodcut engraving of a heron in Thomas Bewick’s ‘A History of British Birds'

Conference for the Birds: Marcus Coates at Cherryburn, Northumberland 

Encounter the lives of birds through this playful installation in which life-size birds, played by wildlife experts, gather round the fireplace at Cherryburn discussing their lives, knowledge and culture. Marcus Coates has responded directly to Thomas Bewick’s eighteenth-century ‘History of British Birds’, which brought details of the appearance and behaviour of birds to a mass audience through delicate woodcut engravings.

15 June – 3 November 2019
Image of

Strands of Place and Time: various artists at Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire  

Explore world textiles in the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection at Gawthorpe Hall through the work of Alice Kettle, Jane McKeating, Elnaz Yazdani, Nigel Hurlstone, Poppy Cartwright and Omaid, a local group of refugees and asylum seekers. These artists have considered ideas of cultural heritage and migration to create new works in response to the collection.

11 July – 3 November 2019
Gathering by Hilary Jack

Gathering: Hilary Jack at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire 

Uncover the surprising historic use of the Long Gallery at Little Moreton Hall. This short film and installation takes inspiration from the Tudor tennis balls that were found during restoration work in the space. Hilary Jack gathered over a thousand tennis balls from Wimbledon and tennis clubs across the country to create this piece.

29 June – November 2019
Alice Kettle, ‘Sea’, Thread Bearing Witness

Thread Bearing Witness: Alice Kettle at Gawthorpe, Lancashire 

Immerse yourself in Alice Kettle’s monumental 'Thread Bearing Witness'. The Great Barn will provide a dramatic backdrop for this body of textile work, which connects to the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection's ‘Strands of Place and Time’ exhibition and explores the refugee experience across land, sea and sky, capturing their stories in these beautifully wrought threads.

3 October – 3 November 2019
Help Katie Paterson to create the ‘First there is a Mountain’ artwork at Formby.

First there is a Mountain: Katie Paterson at Formby, Merseyside 

Build ‘mountains’ of sand across the UK coastline and play out the world’s natural geography against a series of tidal times. Four National Trust beaches are taking part in this national touring arts project, which involves sets of ‘buckets and spades’ in the form of world mountains.

6 October 2019

Northern Ireland
Neon light installation - The Argory

Artificial Sunshine: Kevin Killen at The Argory, County Armagh 

Bathe in the glow of Kevin Killen’s neon light installation which spills down the spiral stairwell at the heart of this historic house. This Northern Irish artist found inspiration in the glow of the acetylene gas flame that once lit The Argory, to deliver an entirely contemporary take on this celebrated form of light.

Until November 2019
South East
Virginia Woolf's writing desk at Monk's House

A Room of One’s Own: Monk’s House, East Sussex 

Play your part in an ongoing installation and film that responds to Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’, fittingly housed in the room in which she used to write. You are invited to share an image of your own creative space or to donate a copy of the book, with your favourite part highlighted.

An ongoing installation
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.

26 August – December 2019
First There is a Mountain

First there is a Mountain: Katie Paterson at Studland, Dorset 

Build ‘mountains’ of sand across the UK coastline and play out the world’s natural geography against a series of tidal times. Four National Trust beaches are taking part in this national touring arts project, which involves sets of ‘buckets and spades’ in the form of world mountains.

15 September 2019
A misty morning at Stourhead, with the Pantheon emerging through the mist

Nearness: Sam Smith at Stourhead, Wiltshire 

Experience the house and garden at Stourhead anew through the eyes of an artist. Beginning with a multiscreen video installed in Stourhead’s library, the exhibition extends to an outdoor video installation via an artist-curated walk. ‘Nearness’ is a direct response to the ecosystems of the estate, which Sam Smith uncovered during his time as artist-in-residence at Stourhead.

27 April – 30 November 2019

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.