Events this year have been few and far between; before COVID-19 kicked in I was able to attend both the London and New York Toy Fairs, and the reveal of LEGO DOTS in London. For someone who routinely attends numerous events all over the world, the lack of events has been difficult, with the hardest part not being able to meet up with friends who are also on ‘the circuit’, but the priority for everyone in this most peculiar year has been health and remaining safe.
To coincide with the start of Season 2 of The Mandalorian at the end of October, and just before the second UK lockdown, Disney UK took the opportunity to showcase a portrait of Din Djarin with The Child in cooperation with National Portrait Gallery. The portrait was shown at a small gallery in London in limited-invitation, COVID-safe time slots.
I attended the press preview on Thursday October 29th 2020, with my 11-year-old daughter, Miriam. We were picked up and taken to the venue, and upon arrival our details were recorded for track and trace, before we were granted entry.
The 3ft by 2ft exclusive portrait of The Mandalorian and The Child was hung alongside some of the National Portrait Gallery’s own collection of portraits of familiar faces from the Star Wars galaxy, including Sir Alec Guinness, Thandie Newton, Felicity Jones, Ben Morris, Riz Ahmed and Gareth Edwards. Additionally, three pieces of original concept art from The Mandalorian by Doug Chiang, John Park and Christian Alzman were on display. The final part of the exhibit featured a curtained off area where you could sit and watch a time lapse of the creation of the portrait by the artist.
After we had finished we were both given a goodie bag containing some biscuits, champagne (strictly for the adults only!), shopDisney plush of The Child, National Portrait Gallery notebook and a bottle of branded hand gel. A car then picked us up and took us home.
It was a very different type of event, with everybody present wearing a mask and maintaining a distance of a least 2m from one another. Despite the necessary measures, it was refreshing to attend an event in person, my first since New York Toy Fair in late February. Being able to see the painting and portraits in real life rather on screen was something of a novelty for 2020, and I hope that more people will get the opportunity to see them at a later date.
My thanks to Disney UK and all involved in ensuring that the event was COVID secure, and arranging transport so we could avoid the tube.
