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The Reel Store: UK’s first digital art gallery opens in Coventry next year

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reel store art gallery coventry

The Reel Store‘s inaugural exhibition by Refik Anadol is the result of a collaboration with NASA.

The Reel Store, the UK’s first permanent immersive art gallery, is set to open in Coventry in April 2022 with the ‘Machine Memoirs: Space’ exhibition by media artist Refik Anadol.

Opening at the former Coventry Evening Telegraph building, The Reel Store will be run by the Coventry City of Culture Trust. The inaugural exhibition by Anadol is the result of a collaboration with NASA.

“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,” said Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust.

“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.”

Described as a 360-degree cinematic experience with 3D audio, Machine Memoirs: Space uses artificial intelligence (AI) to reimagine images of space taken by NASA satellites and telescopes, as well as the International Space Station.

New immersive art experience

reel store art gallery coventry

Work is currently underway to create 800 square metres of exhibition space, which will be a fixed projection mapping canvas with 14 laser projectors and a spatially adaptive sound system.

Anadol’s work has been shown in more than 50 cities. This year, it has been exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach, COP26 in Glasgow, and Artechouse in New York.

“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,” Anadol said.

“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.”

Tickets go on sale for The Reel Store in early 2022.

Images: Refik Anadol Studio

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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