Coventry City of Culture Trust has announced the appointment of Chris Michaels as the inaugural director of the Reel Store, the UK’s first permanent immersive art gallery.
In his new role, Michaels will be responsible for the museum’s strategic direction and curatorial leadership, per a news release.
Michaels most recently served as the director of digital, communications and technology and London’s National Gallery. He also sat on the institution’s executive committee.
Additionally, he is a senior visiting research fellow at King’s College London and a creative industries policy and engagement fellow at the Arts and Humanities Research Council
UK’s first permanent digital art gallery
Michaels says he is “incredibly excited” to join the Reel Store “at this pivotal time”. The gallery is “leading the way in a new generation of museums and galleries that are built on the possibilities of digital”, he adds.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chris as the first director of the Reel Store,” says Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust.
“He is at the forefront of digital innovation in the cultural sector and with his leadership, experience, and pioneering thinking I am positive we will achieve our ambitious plans for the future.”
The Reel Store opened in Coventry earlier this year with the ‘Machine Memoirs: Space’ exhibition by media artist Refik Anadol.
Its second exhibition, opening on 25 November and available through 29 January 2023, will explore the life and work of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Created by exhibition producer Acciona Cultura and the Frida Kahlo Trust, the immersive and audiovisual show has already enjoyed a sell-out run in Madrid.
The award-winning exhibition “will not only provide an unforgettably moving snapshot of Kahlo’s iconic story, but will also bring her thoughts, emotions, and artwork to life”, says Michaels.
The curatorial team behind the exhibition was led by Roxana Velásquez, executive director of the San Diego Museum of Art, and Deidré Guevara, curator of the ‘Frida and I’ exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Images: Coventry City of Culture Trust
