Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
Stories Brought to Life is now open to the public at MediaCity, Greater Manchester, running until 31 August. This immersive experience is the result of a collaboration between Frameless and the National Portrait Gallery, bringing to life the portraits of nineteen renowned figures, including David Bowie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Grayson Perry. With most of the portraits housed at the Gallery in London, a digital rendition with music, voiceovers, lights and animation now brings these portraits to cities across the UK, reaching and inspiring a wider audience.
The selected portraits celebrate a diverse range of achievements spanning five centuries, from monarchs and politicians to scientists and writers. Lasting nearly forty minutes, the experience opens with David Bowie, featuring his iconic photo by photographer and film producer Brian Duffy. In the image, Bowie appears with his eyes wide open, sporting a red-orange mullet and a striking red and blue lightning bolt over his right eye. The experience explores Bowie’s life, his first UK No.1, and his impact on the music industry. However, it does not delve into the details of the portraits themselves or the process behind their creation, an aspect that could have added another extra layer of interest in the experience.
In a short conversation with Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, at the opening of the experience, she gives us an insight into the journey of creating this immersive experience. What inspired you to collaborate with Frameless on this project?
One of our ambitions is to reach as many people as possible around the UK. As I said in the introduction, it is a national collection. It is owned by everybody. Since we are situated in London, not everybody gets a chance to walk through our doors and explore the wonderful collection. So, we took this as an amazing opportunity to bring these key people and their stories from our collection around the country. But also presenting it in this very unique immersive format will help engage with new audiences who don't necessarily come through our doors. So yeah, two reasons there, I think, were sharing the collection nationally and the potential to reach new audiences as well.
The experience offers a primary introduction to cross- generational figures, including the life of figures such as Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, who was shot while opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on female education in 2012 as well as British actress and fashion icon, Audrey Kathleen Hepburn. Was there a conscious effort to bring famous figures from different generations together?
Absolutely! It was extremely challenging to select 19 people for the experience. Thousands were represented in our collection, and I wish we could’ve included more people. But our goal was to show people of all ages and backgrounds, from the Tudor times to today. We also wanted to bring to life the stories of people who've achieved things in different fields, from science to politics to music to literature. Many of our stories also feature living figures who were able to voice their experiences, which really helped enhance this experience. So, it was definitely also about creating a balance of stories and voices throughout the experience.
What about the visuals for this - was that all handled by Frameless, or was your team still involved in how the portraits moved and spoke to the audience?
It was great working with Frameless on this, and that side contributed to the experience. They are obviously the experts and did it all so beautifully.
Since this is a moving installation, what is its next destination?
It has not been confirmed yet, but that will be our next announcement, I hope!
And lastly, why was it important to begin with this experience here in Manchester?
I think Manchester's such an extraordinary cultural city. It has wonderful museums, and the audience here is highly culturally engaged. So I think it was a great choice to start here.
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