INTERACTIVE PORTRAIT OF THE NATION BY ES DEVLIN LAUNCHED AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

The National Portrait Gallery unveils A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery, an evolving digital artwork created by artist Es Devlin in collaboration with everyone across the UK who would like to participate. On display in the NPG’s History Makers gallery until 27 October 2026, the project invites people to become co-authors of a collective portrait of the nation and see themselves exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.

Participants can take a photograph of their face on the dedicated site on Google Arts & Culture. There it is transformed into an animated digital portrait, using a tool stylistically directed on Devlin’s previous charcoal and chalk drawings. At the click of a button, participants can submit their portrait to instantly become part of A National Portrait displayed at the NPG. Each participant can also download a unique digital edition of their portrait. This artwork is the culmination of three years of collaborative research between Es Devlin and Google Arts & Culture Lab.

To accompany this new work, Devlin also encourages everyone to ‘leave traces’ of their encounters with one another through the physical drawing process, as portrait artists have always done. The artist hosted a free drawing event at the Gallery on 14 May 2026, in addition to an online step-by-step drawing class, available to everyone across the UK. The NPG’s free, public Drop-In Drawing sessions will continue throughout the duration of the portrait’s display, with workshops taking place from 18:00-20:00 on 12 June, 3 July, 4 September, and 2 October 2026. The 2 October session will be hosted by Es Devlin.

Celebrated for her large-scale participatory artworks and kinetic stage sculptures, Devlin has conceived this communal work as ‘a counterpoint to today’s often fractious discourse’ on national identity. Pluralistic and interactive, the artwork frames national identity as a continuous ‘process of collective authorship, shaped by participation and mutual recognition’. Each face that appears in the portrait ‘calls for acknowledgement and presence’ within the shared public space of the National Portrait Gallery.

Es Devlin, artist, said: “The National Portrait Gallery belongs to us. It’s the largest collection of portraits in the world and its over 220,000 artworks are part of our cultural commons. It is a mirror of us: it reflects who we’ve been and who we are becoming. Now everyone in every part of the UK can become a co-author of A National Portrait and watch as their face etches itself into the collective artwork exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait can hold all of us, together, whatever our backgrounds and beliefs, constantly redrawing itself to include each new participant. It explores national identity as a continuous process of collective imagination.”

Dr Flavia Frigeri, Curatorial and Collections Director at the National Portrait Gallery, said: “We’re delighted to welcome this collaboration between Es Devlin and Google Arts & Culture Lab to the National Portrait Gallery. For the next six months, audiences will be able to not only observe but to become part of this portrait itself, pushing the boundaries of portraiture, as well as joining drawing workshops to explore their own drawing style.”

Freya Salway, Head of the Lab, Google Arts & Culture, said: “Our decade-long collaboration with Es Devlin is a privilege, and continues our programme that supports artist-led experimentation with advanced technologies. We are thrilled that the National Portrait Gallery is displaying A National Portrait, offering the UK public a personal way to see themselves reflected on the walls of this iconic institution.”

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