National Portrait Gallery Launches Late Shifts with Erin O'Connor
13 May, 2010
by: Spoonfed Arts Team
Discussions, dance and art workshops, all endorsed by Erin O'Connor, all part of the National Portrait Gallery's Late Shifts, kick off this weekend.
With the summer supposedly just around the corner, the galleries all seem to be at it. Staying up way past their bedtime that is. First there was the news of Museums at Night, a weekend of after-hours fun taking place this weekend, and now, not to be outdone, the National Portrait Gallery is launching a new programme of late openings called Late Shifts.
Late Shifts get off to a very colourful start with Indian Noir, an Asian-themed evening which coincides with the Gallery's current exhibition, The Indian Portrait 1560-1860. There'll be a gallery tour, Indian music, a performance from dance group Akademi, a talk with Indian Crime Fiction writers Glen Peters and Hirsh Sawhney and even a garland workshop.
Every week for the foreseeable future, visitors to the National Portrait Gallery will be able to take in a programme of talks, panel discussions and exhibition tours on a Thursday, and enjoy free contemporary, world, London jazz and classical music concerts in the Gallery, which will stay open until 10pm on a Friday. Free drop-in sessions will also take place on Friday evenings and visitors will be able to refuel with cocktails and dinner in the Gallery's skyline restaurant overlooking Trafalgar Square.
The whole thing's so good that it's even got the approval of model, and portrait sitter Erin O'Connor, who gushed: “Late Shift is a brilliant way to encourage people to explore the arts in the evening. The Gallery's central location makes it perfect for evening and after-work audiences who might not normally be able to enjoy everything the Gallery has to offer.” Marvellous.
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Image Credit: Akademi Asian Dance Group - Late Shift India Noir in the National Portrait Gallery, London, By Jorge A.Herrera, copyright, Jorge A. Herrera.
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