The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) and their Graduate School students invite you to join them at Trafalgar Square on 26 July 2025 to celebrate the National Gallery’s Bicentenary.
This event is part of The Triumph of Art, a nationwide project by artist Jeremy Deller. It was commissioned by the National Gallery, London, as part of NG200, its Bicentenary celebrations.
Join us in Trafalgar Square
CAT is proud to be a collaborator and exhibiting partner at this extraordinary event, which highlights the role of art, culture, and civic life in shaping our communities. As part of the collaborative programme, CAT’s presence in Trafalgar Square will showcase our commitment to sustainability and positive change through an impressive build exhibit and engagement activities in green skills, alongside fellow institutions from across the UK.
CAT’s Sustainable Architecture students have also been working with Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno and the National Gallery, London, to design and build a structure that will be unveiled for the first time at the unique celebration in Trafalgar Square and is inspired by multiple sources, particularly CAT’s lineage of self-build construction and working with natural materials.
CAT student collaboration with the National Gallery and Mostyn Gallery
Designed by CAT students Hannah Maxey and Anna Drost, they were joined by fellow students (Alfie Hatch, Cat San, Sam Garbett and Louis Parry-Jones) on CAT’s MArch Sustainable Architecture course, and supported by Senior Lecturer, Gwyn Stacey, and Momentum Engineering to build the structure as part of CAT’s Build Week, which offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge of a selection of sustainable building systems through hands-on building workshops.
Throughout the build, students have had help from members of the CAT community and members of the local public with weaving willow using simple techniques to form the woven frames that are part of the roof of the structure.
Student Hannah Maxey said, “This has been an exciting, challenging and inspiring project to be a part of. The skills I have picked up working as part of a team to take the project from brief to build are innumerable – from liaising with Jeremy Deller and Mostyn Gallery, researching and specifying materials, to improving my confidence in the workshop. The opportunity to get hands-on in such a supportive environment is exactly what I wanted from my Master’s at CAT. On top of this, it is especially exciting that the project will go on to showcase the beauty of natural materials in the centre of London.”
Co-CEO of CAT Eileen Kinsman said, “It is wonderful for CAT to be able to share our work as a charity on this scale and at one of the most creative events of the year. It has been inspiring to see how our students over the past year have applied their learning and understanding of implementing sustainable design and construction to the practical opportunity of working with Jeremy Deller and the team from Mostyn Gallery and the National Gallery as part of their Build project. It has been a real pleasure to see the build come to life, and we are excited to see it (the build) revealed this summer in Trafalgar Square.”
Find out more about the event
Find out more about the Triumph of Art project here, and join the celebrations on 26 July. Make sure to also keep an eye on CAT’s social media for updates on the day as the structure is unveiled.
