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Barco and Culturespaces announce opening of new immersive showpiece, Bassins de Lumières

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Barco, the technology company focusing on innovative visualization solutions, and Culturespaces have revealed the early success of their latest immersive showpiece, Bassins de Lumières.

Barco is pleased to announce the latest achievement created by its partnership with Culturespaces, the French artainment venture. The latest exhibition, Bassins de Lumières, opened in Bordeaux, France, on 10 June 2020.

Since opening, Bassins de Lumières has already welcomed over 300,000 visitors, who have enjoyed an immersive exploration of the works of Gustav Klimt and Paul Klee, set in a former WWII submarine base. The iconic works of art have been recreated by digital artists, before being brought to life by over 100 Barco projectors.

Bassins de Lumières

Culturespaces has successfully used Barco projectors in several previous digital art centres, including the popular Atelier des Lumières in Paris. This is the first project since the partnership between the two companies was renewed in December 2019.

The aim of Bassins de Lumières is to showcase major artists in the history of contemporary art, creating an immersive experience where visitors feel like they are a part of the pieces. Programmes will alternative every year, with different artists being featured.

Moving images of the works of art are projected onto the architecture of the submarine base as well as being reflected in the water of four large basins. There are gangways and quays where guests can walk into the artwork, immersing themselves into a digital world.

“Bassins de Lumières offers a totally unique, sensory experience, including projected video, light and sound,” says Augustin de Cointet de Fillain, Director of Bassins de Lumières and Culturespaces Digital, the exposition organizer. “The mix of the location, the recreated artwork from Klimt and Klee, and the superb image quality of Barco projectors make this exposition an unequalled experience.”

“Following the creation of the Atelier des Lumières, we are pleased to have created this enormous digital art centre for the City of Bordeaux,” says Bruno Monnier, President of Culturespaces. “The Bassins de Lumières will offer visitors an unforgettable visual and audio experience in a unique setting, a place for sharing culture that is open to all types of visitors.”

Quality projection technology

With an available projection space of nearly 14,000 square metres, Culturespaces used 72 Barco F80-Q12, 27 G60-W10, and 3 UDX-W32 laser projectors to achieve the desired outcome. This is the largest project that the two companies have collaborated on to date – the submarine base’s surface area is three times the size of the Carrières de Lumières and eight times the size of the Atelier de Lumières.

In December 2019, Barco announced that it would remain the exclusive provider of projectors for Culturespaces’ digital art exhibitions across the globe, for a further three years. The companies agreed on the delivery of 168 new laser projectors and a Barco service contract covering the entire equipment fleet.

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charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

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