From Coventry to outer space: The UK’s first permanent immersive art gallery opens

A new immersive art show has opened in the heart of Coventry, the first of its kind to have a permanent fixture in the UK.

The Reel Store is part of Coventry’s celebrations to mark the end of their reign as the City of Culture 2021.

The exciting new attraction will allow high-quality art commissions to be projected onto walls, filling the rooms with moving colours, lights and sounds.

Its first exhibition is Machine Memoirs: Space by artist Refik Anadol, a long-term project in collaboration with NASA.

See Machine Memoirs: Space at the Reel Store, Coventry (Jamie Gray)

The Reel Store is part of Coventry’s City of Culture programme (Jamie Gray)

Using artificial intelligence, Anadol has brought to life images taken by NASA satellites and telescopes of the deeper regions of outer space.

The artist said: “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.

“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.”

Following the huge success of interactive art shows around the world, the Coventry City of Culture Trust have expressed their delight about being the first city to launch this “new way to experience the wonder of art”.

The Reel Store is located in the heart of Coventry (Jamie Gray)

“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 the Trust.

The innovative art display will be based at a post-war building in the heart of the city, formerly the office for the Coventry Evening Telegraph newspaper.

Sutherland continued: “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.”

For more information and to book tickets, go tocoventry2021.co.uk