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The National Gallery’s nearly 200-year-old neoclassical main building hides the museum’s progressive digital approach. A dynamic content team of 23 operates behind the grey stone exterior, continually innovating and refining an online strategy to maintain the museum's relevance in the digital age.
John Stack, Director of Digital Innovation and Technology, and Lawrence Chiles, Head of Digital Services, are at the forefront of these efforts. They lead the content team, continually addressing and acting on the question: "What is the museum of the future?"
Their mission is bolstered by the National Gallery X (NGX) studio. Launched in 2019 in partnership with King’s College London, NGX is described by the museum’s director, Gabriele Finaldi, as both a “laboratory and a place to experiment.” It provides the digital department with the space and resources to explore how online innovation can enhance cultural experiences and engage new audiences.
“The National Gallery is an absolute leader in short-form video content delivered through social media,” says John Stack, who joined the museum six weeks ago after ten years at the Science Museum Group and a decade at Tate. The team experiments with different formats to find what resonates best with their online audience.
The gallery boasts five million followers on social media—more than two million on Instagram, over 250,000 on TikTok, and 370,000 on Threads. These platforms feature engaging videos unveiling mysteries and insights about the Gallery’s collection. The growing numbers of followers and “likes” show the effectiveness of their digital strategy. In the physical realm, Carlo Corsato, a gallery educator and social media presenter, is now recognized on the street.
“We aimed for 15% year-on-year digital engagement growth but saw 26% last year,” says Chiles. When promoted in 2017, Chiles helped steer the National Gallery’s first reinvestment in digital, assembling a directorate and doubling the content team’s size. This preparation allowed them to quickly adapt when the pandemic hit.
Post-lockdown, the National Gallery utilized two years of funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator program to further its digital strategy. The program was designed to help arts organizations stabilize and excel after Covid-19 through strategic technological advancements.
“The Bloomberg funding gave us the freedom to experiment and advance our digital growth,” says Chiles. This initiative contributed to launching the Director’s Choice virtual gallery, which won a Webby award. “We demonstrated to the world how to do virtual exhibitions.”
Scheduled to go live in early 2025, the museum's Virtual Gallery project will push the boundaries of VR and AR. Although specific details remain under wraps, Stack and Chiles are exploring whether the virtual space needs to exactly replicate the museum. The digital space is infinite, allowing for playful elements like scale and interactive audio experiences.
Also in development is content aimed at children. Chiles highlights the transformative impact of AR on how people, especially kids, visit the museum. The team is working on more playful approaches to explore the collection, aligning with a new audience strategy to be implemented post-bicentenary.
Stack notes that the National Gallery’s digital strategy is attracting a growing number of young visitors. “We are always rethinking engagement, changing formats, and adapting to new online platforms. Having an in-house content team is crucial for ongoing innovation.”
Despite their success, the digital department is not complacent. Chiles acknowledges there are still audiences unaware of the museum’s offerings. To address this, the museum projected a light show on its façade for its 200th anniversary, emphasizing inclusivity and public ownership of the collection. “This year is about opening ourselves up as the people’s gallery," says Chiles. "Our future steps will be very exciting.”
