THE STORY SPACE
With aspirations to enrich the cultural landscape of Coventry, ambitious plans were outlined by Coventry City of Culture Trust (CCoCT) to transform the former home of the Coventry Evening Telegraph newspaper and distinctive post-war building in the heart of the city. Following extensive renovations, The Reel Store would emerge as a brand new visitor attraction to showcase innovative experiential art commissions. As the UK’s first permanent immersive digital art gallery, this would be a prominent feature of the City of Culture legacy for years to come.
THE STORY NARRATIVE
The first major exhibition scheduled to open was ‘Machine Memoirs: Space’, by internationally renowned artist Refik Anadol. At the intersection where technology and art meet, this unique project posed an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the evolving dimensions of artistic practice and the expansive prospects of a digital canvas.
THE STORY ENGINEERING
A fundamental ingredient for presenting these dynamic digital masterpieces, is the role of technology, an essential component for this narrative process that enables the powerful translation of these artworks. For visual impact, a 360 degree cinematic experience of rich, futuristic visuals and immersive spatialised audio was required in the main exhibition arena, that would allow the audience to experience the beauty and spectacle of the exhibits.
Sysco Productions were invited to undertake the detailed design and integration of the creative technology, and ongoing development of the audiovisual elements that were needed to provide the stage for these multi-sensory artworks. It was imperative that the creative content worked in equilibrium with the technology, with artwork sitting at the forefront and AV acting as a storytelling mechanism that avoided overshadowing the artwork or perceptual encounter.
Working closely with Coventry City of Culture Trust, Sysco productions assembled a multi-disciplinary team of experts to deliver the show technology that will facilitate groundbreaking artists over the coming years. The Reel Store champions this new cultural relationship between art and technology and hopes to become a beacon in Europe, acting as an important part of the legacy within the artistic community.
