National Gallery
Bringing a National Treasure to Basildon Town Centre
CLIENT
National Gallery
John Constable’s The Cornfield is one of the nation’s most treasured paintings, but for a week, it wasn’t hanging in a museum – it was in the heart of Basildon. As part of the National Gallery Visits Tour, the masterpiece was brought to unexpected public spaces across England, inviting new audiences to experience art in fresh and surprising ways.
In Basildon, Things Made Public partnered with the National Gallery and digital experience designers Street Tag to reimagine how people engage with art. Together, we developed an augmented reality ‘Monuments Trail’ app, blending heritage with cutting-edge technology. Users could explore the town’s heritage and public art through images, stories, videos, and audio content, uncovering both classical and contemporary narratives. The app also linked to Street Tag’s activity programme, encouraging people to walk, run, or cycle through Basildon while discovering public art and local heritage.
To bring The Cornfield to life beyond the screen, we ran creative workshops in 10 schools, colleges, and community spaces, using movement, theatre, visual art, and technology to explore its themes. These sessions introduced people to the app while sparking curiosity about Constable’s work. The culmination? A pop-up gallery in a repurposed town centre unit, drawing over 1,000 visitors in just one week – proving that when art steps outside the museum, it can inspire in unexpected ways.
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‘The National Gallery collaborated with four partners in Basildon to deliver an exciting programme of week long activities to celebrate Constable Visits 2023. Things Made Public delivered cultural interventions alongside Basildon Borough Council, Street Tag, and South Essex College and the display attracted 1724 visitors and participants during its run. The theme, ‘Art and Nature in Our Home,’ gave Things Made Public the opportunity to use ‘The Cornfield’ to celebrate cultural and physical activity across the Borough. 24 workshops were hosted with local schools and college groups and gave students positive experiences of the National Gallery’s rich history and encouraged people to explore their local area. Several attendees specifically mentioned the friendly and knowledgeable staff in enhancing the visitor experience. The students’ initial scepticism about visiting the display was soon overturned by the engaging and enjoyable experience they had, highlighting the potential for cultural events to broaden horizons and inspire curiosity in young minds.’
– Alexandra Kavanagh, Head of National Touring Exhibitions at The National Gallery
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