THE UK’s first permanent immersive digital art gallery is opening in Coventry as part of the UK City of Culture.
The Coventry City of Culture Trust has announced that The Reel Store, will open at the former Coventry Telegraph building in Spring 2022, becoming a permanent new visitor attraction in the heart of the city.
Following on from the huge popularity of immersive art spaces around the world, this new state-of-the-art space will feature innovative experiential art commissions and will be a prominent feature of the City of Culture programme in spring/summer 2022.
The Reel Store has been made possible by the generous support of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Coventry City Council, The Patrick Trust, The Linbury Trust, Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust and Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “The Reel Store is a hugely exciting venture, with Coventry becoming home to the UK’s only permanent truly immersive digital art gallery, a major draw for Coventrians and visitors.
“We are delighted that our partners have backed the vision for this permanent new visitor attraction, transforming old media into new media, as part of the legacy of our year as UK City of Culture.”
Chenine Bhathena, creative director of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “Having experienced some truly magical immersive art shows in Tokyo, Paris and London, I am delighted that Coventry, a youthful and pioneering city is launching The Reel Store with Machine Memoirs – a new way to experience the wonder of art.
“Right now, Refik Anadol is leading the way in this field and we are proud and excited to be collaborating to deliver his first long running UK show.”
Sarah Windrum, Chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said:“Leading innovation is one of the key priorities of CWLEP’s Strategic Reset Framework and this fascinating digital art gallery initiative emphasises our area’s strengths in the creative sector. The Getting Building Fund was set-up for projects which would immediately make a difference and this will help to attract visitors from across the UK and boost our economy.”
Refik Anadol, said: “Machine Memoirs: Space invites us to dream of an alternative universe where machines collaborate with humans to speculate our existence and create an alternative future.
“This is a hopeful future where machines and humanity, in combination, are agents for healing.
“A collaborative relationship with machines can give us new insights, knowledge and the power to not only dream, but create a better world.”
