Our friends over at the National Portrait Gallery have opened up an awesome new exhibition called “Stories Brought To Life.” This display features striking representations of some extraordinary people such as Nelson Mandela, Grayson Perry, Winston Churchill, Emmeline Pankhurst and Ncuti Gatwa, star of Doctor Who. It’s a cutting edge experience that merges visual art and tech, bringing once-still portraits to life as compelling stories through animation, music and narration.
The Smart Moves exhibition opens in Salford this Friday. It will then launch on a UK tour so that it can engage with diverse new audiences outside of London. The groundbreaking format not only shuttles visitors through time, it lets them experience pivotal moments in history through the eyes and minds of these legendary leaders. Each story is told in the span of 2-3 min. Combined, they make for a powerful six-minute journey with narration by Bolton comedian and actress Sophie Willan.
The immersive exhibition consists of mostly giant picture frame-shape boxes arranged portrait style, with animation projections filling the cubes. Audiences will be keen to explore the venue’s walls, floor, and ceiling that feature projections of artist LS Lowry’s 1953 painting “Going To The Match.” This multi-dimensional exhibition encourages visitors to interact with America’s history in an interactive, groundbreaking format.
Some of the personalities featured in the exhibition tell their own stories, such as Malala Yousafzai and Audrey Hepburn. For others, like William Shakespeare and Emmeline Pankhurst, the actors read the voiceovers.
Victoria Siddall, director of the National Portrait Gallery, articulated the exhibition’s purpose: “The main driver of this is taking the collection to new audiences outside of London.” She went on to highlight the two-fold purpose of these efforts to both meet wider audiences and provide the revenue needed to ensure the museum’s long-term viability.
“But there is another element to that, of course, which is raising revenue, which is absolutely crucial for museums to thrive.” – Victoria Siddall
In light of current economic challenges, Siddall acknowledges the financial barriers some may face: “Right now with the cost of living it might not be something everybody can afford.” To address this concern, the exhibition offers multiple ticketing options at different price points. Typical adult single tickets cost between £22-30, with flexible travel an additional £5 on top of that. On top of that, pick up £10 tickets every Monday!
Julia Fawcett, another key figure behind the exhibition, stressed the importance of accessibility: “For us, it was about making sure we reached the widest possible audience.” As wonderful as these immersive art experiences may be, she added, there shouldn’t be a huge cost barrier to visitors who might want to support them.
“We know immersive art is popular but we know also that price can be a barrier, and it would be counter-intuitive when you have a project that is about reaching more audiences to put a barrier in place.” – Julia Fawcett
The exhibition is meant to be a whistlestop guide to some of these chosen slices of history. Returning visitors will find a new, more immersive and engaging experience designed to provoke thought on each specific topic and their collective impact on our communities.
“It’s thought-provoking and it actually makes you think about each individual subject again, and takes you back to those moments in time, which you’re not necessarily going to get from looking at a portrait on its own.” – Victoria Siddall
The National Portrait Gallery has a long-standing commitment to free access to its core galleries. It will bring in high-quality paid exhibitions to deepen the visitor experience.
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