Coventry’s new digital art gallery will benefit from state-of-the-art equipment thanks to a strategic deal with Barco

Following on from the huge popularity of immersive art spaces around the world, the UK’s first permanent immersive digital art gallery, The Reel Store, will open in Coventry from Friday 13 May 2022. The space will feature innovative experiential art commissions as a permanent new visitor attraction in the heart of the city and will be a prominent feature of the City of Culture legacy program in Summer 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 a technology partnership deal to give visitors of the Reel Store 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.”

“We are thrilled to have been selected by Coventry City of Culture Trust to support the unique project of The Reel Store,” said Richard Marples, Sales Director at Barco, “We’ve been fortunate to have contributed to similar exhibitions and installations worldwide, and now we’re hugely honored 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 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. 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: https://coventry2021.co.uk/

About Barco

Barco is a global technology leader that develops networked visualization solutions for the entertainment, enterprise and healthcare markets. Its solutions make a visible impact, allowing people to enjoy compelling entertainment experiences; to foster knowledge sharing and smart decision-making in organizations and to help hospitals provide their patients with the best possible healthcare.

Headquartered in Kortrijk (Belgium), Barco realized sales of 804 million euro in 2021 and has a global team of 3,000+ employees, whose passion for technology is captured in +500 granted patents. Barco has been listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange since 1985. (Euronext: BAR; Reuters: BARBt.BR; Bloomberg: BAR BB)

For more information, visit the company at www.barco.com, follow it on Twitter (@Barco), LinkedIn (Barco), YouTube (BarcoTV), or like it on Facebook (Barco).

About COVENTRY UK CITY OF CULTURE 2021

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 commenced on 15 May 2021, running for 12 months. The 365-day cultural program reflects Coventry as a diverse, modern city, demonstrating that culture is a force that changes lives. Coventry is the UK’s only city of peace and reconciliation, and known internationally as a city of welcome, a city of activists and pioneers, innovation, and invention, and now a City of Culture.

Coventry is the city where movement began, from innovation in the transport industry to a history of welcome, it has moved people for centuries. For a whole year, Coventry is celebrating with events, music, dance, theatre, and large-scale spectacle. As well as the expected celebrations, it is throwing a spotlight onto city voices with a range of hyper local experiences and ways to get involved across every neighborhood. And it’s not just Coventry. This epic celebration also witnesses the entire region getting involved and benefitting from the opportunities that being City of Culture brings.

Our year of culture is co-created with the people of Coventry and is bringing about long-term social, economic, and cultural benefits.

About REFIK ANADOL STUDIO

Established in 2014 by Refik Anadol, a pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence, Refik Anadol Studio produces enthralling and immersive media art at the intersection of artificial intelligence, creativity, and architecture. The award-winning studio’s projects have been shown in over 50 cities, spanning six continents, and experienced by millions of fans.

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