The Great British Art Debate was a project that ran from 2008 to 2012. Through this website and a series of events and exhibitions nationwide, the Great British Art Debate sought to explore and debate ideas around Britishness and art.

Four galleries worked together to use historic British Art collections to explore questions about nationhood and identity today. Four exhibitions, Watercolour, John Martin, Restless Times and Family Matters, addressed different aspects of British artistic heritage and contemporary practice. The different artists, time periods and techniques in each exhibition showed different views on Britain and the British people.

The Great British Art Debate was a partnership between Tate Britain, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service and Museums Sheffield, supported by The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, and by the MLA’s Renaissance programme.