The National Gallery in London is launching the second phase of its highly successful influencer partnership program, seeking 50 new social media content creators to join its network. This initiative builds on the museum's groundbreaking 200 Creators program launched last year as part of its bicentenary celebrations, which selected 200 social media influencers to become affiliated with the prestigious institution.

The inaugural program delivered impressive results, generating 42 million views and more than 2.2 million engagements across social media platforms in 2024, according to a museum press statement. The success has prompted the National Gallery to continue the initiative, though on a smaller scale for 2025.

This year's cohort will include 50 new content creators, with applications remaining open until August 31. Selected participants will receive access to exhibition previews, workshops, and special events at the museum. They will also be granted exclusive after-hours gallery access, allowing them to create content or enjoy the artworks without crowds. However, unlike last year's program, full museum membership will not be included in the benefits package.

The application requirements remain consistent with the previous year's standards. Prospective creators should have at least 50,000 followers on YouTube, 100,000 followers on Instagram, or 50,000 followers with one million likes on TikTok. However, Ellie Wyant, the National Gallery's senior communications manager, encourages interested applicants who don't meet these exact criteria or have followings on other platforms to still apply.

"We're excited to find new people who we might not have come across before, or who might not have come across us," Wyant explains. "We're looking for people across the UK again, and across all different pockets of the internet. Last year, we had such an amazing array of people specializing in art history, but also bakers, potters, comedians and tailors!"

While the program has been scaled back in size, it will still offer paid opportunities. Last year's inaugural program featured 20 of its 200 influencers who became Creative Collaborators, each receiving a stipend of £4,000 to support their content creation efforts. This year, four paid positions will be available to four of the 50 chosen creators. The final selection will be made by an internal panel, with the chosen creators announced at a launch event at the museum on October 27.

The success of the National Gallery's influencer initiative has attracted significant attention from other cultural institutions worldwide. "I get emails weekly from people at museums wanting to do something similar," says Wyant, who has presented the program at various events and conferences. She emphasizes that the approach isn't universally applicable, noting that the National Gallery's unique circumstances made the program possible.

"It's not one size fits all, and I don't think even we could have done this if it hadn't been for our 200th birthday," Wyant explains. "It takes a lot of people and funds—200 Creators was three to four years in the making. But it is amazing that it has become something that other museums want to be involved in, and that they can take inspiration from."

Wyant is now sharing her expertise by conducting workshops on working with influencers at museums participating in the National Gallery's Masterpiece Tour initiative. This ambitious two-year program will see the London museum send major works from its collection to collaborating museums across the UK. The tour begins next month with Claude Monet's "The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil" (1872) traveling to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich.

The program has generated tangible benefits for participating creators from the inaugural cohort, who will now assume alumni roles while maintaining connections with the museum. Adeche Atelier, the collaborative name for creative couple Adwoa Botchey and Solomon Adebiyi who create paintings about African mythology and spirituality, exemplifies the program's success in opening new opportunities.

The duo reports receiving work opportunities as a direct result of their partnership with the National Gallery. "We were commissioned by the BBC and the Royal Academy of Arts to do a painting inspired by a new series on the Renaissance, and have also been approached by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, thanks to having taken part in the 200 Creators Network initiative," explains Adebiyi. "It's amazing that other institutions and museums have now been reaching out to us."