The Reel Store: first artistic space of permanent immersive projection

The permanent immersive digital art gallery The Reel Store will be inaugurated next April, in the English city of Coventry (United Kingdom), with the exhibition 'Machine Memoirs': space' of the video artist Refik Anadol, produced with fourteen 4K laser projectors and a spatial audio system.

Created as a state-of-the-art space in Coventry that will become a permanent attraction for visitors to this English city, The Reel Store will be the first permanent immersive art gallery in the UK.

The Reel Store is located in the old newspaper house Coventry Evening Telegraph, a distinctive post-war building in the city centre, that is currently finalizing the works to transform the space in which the paper reels were stored.

Coventry City of Culture Trust is responsible for this project, which received funding from the UK Government to improve its infrastructure and art facilities for the programme City of Culture of the country, that will be developed over the next four years and that "follows the enormous popularity of immersive art spaces around the world", as they pointed out in their statement.

The main exhibition space, of 800 m2, will house a large canvas for mapping projection with fourteen high-luminosity laser equipment and a surround sound system. The first exhibition will be Machine Memoirs: space , by the Turkish-American audiovisual artist Refik Anadol, which was first shown in Istanbul (more data in Digital AV).

This exhibition uses the technology of artificial intelligence (AI) to reimagine two million images of space, publicly available, taken by the satellites and telescopes of the fish trap and the International Space Station.

Through machine learning, the computer classifies and categorizes these photographs, finally developing an understanding of them and, subsequently, create stunning new digital interpretations of space that only exist in the machine mind.

Machine Memoirs: space offers a 360º cinematic experience of futuristic spatial images accompanied by 3D audio, allowing the audience to find the beauty and spectacle of space science, created entirely through AI.

As you pointed out Martin Sutherland, Executive Director of Coventry City of Culture Trust, "The Reel Store is a tremendously exciting company., with Coventry becoming home to the UK's only truly immersive permanent digital art gallery, a great attraction for the inhabitants and visitors of the city. We are delighted that our partners have endorsed the vision of this new attraction., transforming old media into new media, as part of the legacy as a City of Culture”.

Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director of Coventry City of Culture Trust, "After experiencing some truly magical immersive art exhibitions in Tokyo, Paris and London, I am delighted that Coventry, a young and pioneering city, present The Reel Store with Machine Memoirs: space, a new way to experience the wonder of art. Refik Anadol is leading the way in this field and we are proud to collaborate to deliver their first full-length show in the UK.".

In addition, Coventry hosted the prestigious Turner Art Prize last year, "and in the present 2022, Refik Anadol and Machine Memoirs: space truly cement Coventry's status as a major destination for innovative visual arts experiences”, says Bhathena.

The Reel Store has been possible thanks to the support of the Department of Culture, UK Media & Sports; Coventry City Council; The Patrick Trust; The Linbury Trust; Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust and coventry Chamber of Commerce & Warwickshire, and has been financed by foundations and companies in the country.

Other articles on Coventry City of Culture Trust, Refik Anadol, The Reel Store