Coventry’s new digital art gallery will benefit from state-of-the-art equipment thanks to a strategic deal with global technology leader Barco.
Barco, which is based in Belgium and has provided visual technology to a range of worldwide exhibitions and galleries – from Niagara Falls in Canada to Bassins de Lumières, in Bordeaux, France – is a visualization partner for the Reel Store, which will open at the former home of the Coventry Evening Telegraph on 13 May 2022.
The main 800m² exhibition space, created by the Coventry City of Culture Trust, will house a large projection mapping canvas with multiple high quality video projectors and an immersive sound system.
Barco will provide G100-W22 projectors with lenses as part of the deal, and it means visitors to the Reel Store will get the best possible visual experience as the venue brings internationally-acclaimed artists to the city.
Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “We are delighted to have Barco’s support at the Reel Store, which is going to be a real jewel in the crown for the city. Barco is a world leader in its field and the technology it is providing will help us to create truly immersive and spectacular exhibitions for visitors to the gallery, who will come from the city, the region and, indeed, from all over the world.
“It is a testament to the fact that we are the UK City of Culture that Barco is supporting us in this way, and it is going to be part of the great legacy for the city once our year comes to an end in May.”
Richard Marples, Sales Director at Barco said: “We are thrilled to have been selected by Coventry City of Culture Trust to support the unique project of The Reel Store.
“We’ve been fortunate to have contributed to similar projects around the world as technology partner, and now we’re hugely honoured to collaborate on the UK’s first permanent immersive digital art gallery and are looking forward to what the future holds!”
The first major exhibition will be Machine Memoirs: Space, by internationally acclaimed artist Refik Anadol. The product of a long-term collaboration with NASA, this exhibition uses artificial intelligence (AI) to reimagine two million publicly available images of space taken by NASA satellites and telescopes, and the International Space Station, capturing the deepest regions of outer space. Through machine learning, the computer sorts and categorizes these photographs, ultimately developing an understanding of them. Then, it creates stunning new digital interpretations of space that exist only in the mind of the machine.
Machine Memoirs: Space provides a 360-degree cinematic experience of rich and futuristic visuals accompanied by 3D audio, allowing audiences to encounter the beauty and spectacle of space science, created entirely through AI.
Tickets are now on sale for the exhibition with, 20 per cent of tickets being made available free of charge to schools, Go CV+ cardholders and through exclusive offers from Coventry City of Culture Trust.
The Reel Store has been made possible by the generous support of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Coventry City Council via the Council’s Cultural Capital Investment Fund, the Government’s Getting Building Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), The Patrick Trust, The Linbury Trust, Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust, Barco and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.