Working with Cinesite, FRAMELESS’ content production partner, the stories behind the famous faces in the Gallery’s portraits will be brought to life like never before, with the immersive art experience set to premiere in Manchester in 2025.
FRAMELESS Creative, a leading creator of immersive experiences, has entered into an innovative partnership with the National Portrait Gallery to present the first major touring immersive art experience inspired by a UK art institution, which will be premiered at MediaCity, Salford, Greater Manchester in May 2025, ahead of a planned national and international tour.
This new long-term partnership, ‘National Portrait Gallery Unframed’, will launch with Stories – Brought to Life, exploring the lives of people featured in the collection who have shaped the UK’s history and culture, from the Tudor period to the present day.
The National Portrait Gallery has granted FRAMELESS’ award-winning team access to its Collection to inspire the creation of Stories – Brought to Life, an experience designed to push the boundaries of storytelling. It will combine the highest quality digital projection, Hollywood-style visual effects and the latest audio technology with music and creative narratives to tell the stories behind some of the Gallery’s best-loved portraits.
Working with FRAMELESS’ content production partner, the acclaimed, BAFTA award-winning, digital production studio, Cinesite, the stories behind the famous faces in the Gallery’s portraits will be brought to life like never before.
We are delighted to announce this new long-term partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. We hope that by unleashing the power of digital storytelling we can help the Gallery to bring art to a whole new audience. We’re living in a changing world and there is a real need for new experiences that help open up art and culture to new audiences and crucially help ensure that national institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery and their incredible collections continue to be accessible and have cultural significance for the next generation. MediaCity is a vibrant cultural hub attracting a hugely diverse audience. This combined with its proximity to major transport links and focus on technology made it an obvious choice for premiering our first experience.
Rich Storton, General Manager of FRAMELESS Creative
The National Portrait Gallery aims to share our unique collection of portraits with as wide an audience as possible and explore the human stories that shape our history and culture. This exciting new partnership with FRAMELESS, inspired by our Collection, will enable us to take these stories outside of the Gallery walls and bring them to life in new, innovative ways.
Rosie Wilson, Director of Programmes, Partnerships and Collections at the National Portrait Gallery
We are honoured that the National Portrait Gallery and FRAMELESS have chosen MediaCity as the first stop on the tour of this unique immersive experience. We’ve hosted many arts and culture events, experiences, festivals and exhibitions over the last few years and we can’t wait to welcome visitors to Salford when the experience opens its doors in May next year.
Caroline Aikman, Director of Marketing, Brand and Place at MediaCity
For more information visit www.npgunframed.com. Follow the official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts for further information and announcements: @npgunframedtour.
