One year on: Supporters’ House is redefining modern cultural membership at the National Gallery

One year after opening during the National Gallery’s Bicentenary celebrations, Supporters’ House has established itself as one of London’s most significant new cultural spaces - reimagining what gallery membership can mean for contemporary audiences. 

Located within former curatorial offices inside William Wilkins’s historic Gallery building overlooking Trafalgar Square, Supporters’ House has welcomed nearly 20,000 House Members since opening in June 2025. In that time, it has evolved from a members’ space into something more ambitious: a contemporary cultural salon rooted in the artistic and institutional history of the Gallery itself. 

In its first year alone, Supporters’ House has hosted 104 events, building a year-round programme of literary salons, curator talks, philosophy evenings, live music, workshops and artist-led discussions designed to foster a deeper relationship between audiences, art and ideas. 

To celebrate its first birthday on 2 June, the National Gallery will host a major programme of bespoke events across Supporters’ House and the wider Gallery - inviting Members into the heart of the institution through talks, workshops, tours, performances and behind-the-scenes experiences. 

The anniversary programme reflects the increasingly expansive direction of Supporters’ House itself. Across the day, Members’ can join conversations with Gallery experts, creative workshops led by artists, aromatherapy experiences with Neal’s Yard, Spanish wine tastings inspired by the Gallery’s five-star exhibition Zurbarán and a special birthday dinner hosted by the Gallery’s Director, Sir Gabriele Finaldi, accompanied by live music. 

The celebrations also launch the new 2026 Members season - an expanded programme spanning online talks, Gallery tours and intimate events within Supporters’ House itself, positioning membership as an active form of cultural participation rather than passive access alone. 

Membership is positioned less as transactional access and more as an invitation into the intellectual and creative life of the Gallery itself. 

Season highlights include: 

• Literary salons exploring mythology, poetry and classical storytelling  
• Conversations on Caravaggio, reputation and desire  
• Mindfulness sessions inspired by light, stillness and contemplative painting  
• Workshops reinterpreting Zurbarán’s still lifes through herbal medicine and domestic ritual  
• Austrian wine tastings inspired by 'Waldmüller: Landscapes'  
• Live musical performances transforming the Lounge into a contemporary salon space  
• Curator-led conversations through the returning Art Distilled series  

Other events include comedy nights, private dining experiences, jazz evenings and candlelit concerts. 

Together, the programme positions Supporters’ House not just as a hospitality space alone, but as an active cultural platform - one where audiences can engage with art through literature, philosophy, performance, food, music and conversation. 

The cultural significance of the House is inseparable from the building it occupies. 

When architect William Wilkins designed the National Gallery back in 1838, the building became a defining symbol of Britain’s emerging public cultural life. For three decades, the Royal Academy occupied the east wing alongside the National Gallery, transforming Trafalgar Square into the epicentre of Victorian artistic society. 

Turner, Constable and later the Pre-Raphaelites moved through these halls at a time when exhibitions here shaped artistic debate and public taste across Britain. Critics, patrons, and artists gathered within the same building to discuss the future of British art itself. 

Today, Supporters’ House offers a contemporary evolution of that salon culture - reopening historically private spaces to Members and creating new forms of dialogue between audiences, curators, writers, artists and performers. 

Designed by Amsterdam-based Studio Linse alongside Selldorf Architects and Purcell, the interiors draw direct inspiration from works in the National Gallery Collection. Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire informed the copper-toned private dining room at the centre of the House, while changing seasonal palettes influenced by Cezanne, Aert van der Neer and Monticelli shape the atmosphere throughout the House. 

At a moment when audiences are increasingly seeking deeper and more meaningful forms of cultural participation, Supporters’ House reflects how historic institutions can evolve while remaining rooted in artistic heritage and public purpose. 

Membership starts from £130 annually and includes exclusive access to Supporters’ House alongside exhibition benefits, previews and year-round cultural programming. Current highlights include the five-star 'Zurbarán', followed by the upcoming Waldmüller: Landscapes and Renoir and Love - continuing a tradition of landmark artistic moments that has shaped cultural life within the Wilkins Building for nearly two centuries.