What happens at night when the last visitors leave the National Gallery and the doors are locked? When the lights go out and guards patrol the darkening building? This special episode celebrates the uncanny life of the gallery after closing in preparation for the ‘Night of the Museums’, an initiative that will see the National Gallery and a host of museums across Europe stay open long into the night on Saturday 19th May.

Hear author and academic Marina Warner explain why night-time turns museums into uncanny and magical places; writer Tracy Chevalier discuss how she brought art to life in her bestselling novel Girl with a Pearl Earring; and security guards Joe Maciejczek and Atmaram Kawal describe the secret world of the National Gallery after dark. Poets Aoife Mannix and Jacob Sam La-Rose eavesdrop on the paintings’ nocturnal mutterings, and a special bonus track features their readings of poems inspired by the gallery at night along with original works by Roger Robinson, Dzifa Benson, Naomi Woddis, and Niall O’Sullivan.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast/default.htm

Nocturne: the uncanny life of the National Gallery at night
Nocturne: the National Gallery after dark with Marina Warner and Tracy Chevalier

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