Publication of the latest National Gallery Strategic Plan 2021-2026 will take the organisation through to its 200th birthday. The plan is very much a product of the pandemic, recognising the change over the past year, challenges and opportunities that the gallery has gone through and actions it needs now to mainstream in its operations to thrive into the future.
The Gallery sees itself as embarking on a newly enhanced commitment to engage with the widest audiences globally in innovative ways, and wants to demonstrate how art is transformative, enhancing culture and society. It intends to develop income streams through a range of digital channels and offerings, rework the visitor welcome and orientation in the Sainsbury Wng, and foregrounds the research credentials of the Gallery as a hub for an enhanced and diverse community of practice.
There is much to applaud here, not least the optimistic and engaging tone in which the strategy is written. As a connoisseur of strategic plans and annual reports, there are also some sentences which may baffle and amuse. My favourites for this plan include:
It is this multivalent life, always finding new ways to share our art, that defines the Gallery and will continually redefine it in future.
Strategic Plan, p.5
Multivalent? There’s a word you don’t see every day!.
…we will diversify the social media channels we serve to include programmes we do not already use (TikTok, Snapchat) as well as doubling down on the ones we do.
Strategic Plan, p.10
Doubling down? A phrase with history… but also a gamble.
Heritage Futures 
I’m concerned that “rework the visitor welcome” means the main Trafalgar Square entrance / exit will be closed and footfall will be diverted through a remodelled St Martin’s Lane. This means the magnificent view across Trafalgar Square afforded visitors as they leave, not to mention access to the portico itself, will be lost.