Famous faces come to life in art show

From Winston Churchill to Amy Winehouse, Charles Darwin to Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa, portraits of a host of British icons feature in the first immersive exhibition to use one of Britain’s national art collections.

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has combined digital versions of portraits from its collection with animated graphics and voiceovers to tell the stories of 19 celebrities and historical figures.

It is the latest in a wave of increasingly popular immersive art shows, which fill gallery walls with large-scale projected visuals.

The show launches in Salford on Friday before going on a UK tour. But while access to see the original portraits in the NPG in London is free, entrance to the Stories Brought To Life exhibition costs up to £35.

NPG director Victoria Siddall told BBC News: “The main driver of this is taking the collection to new audiences outside of London.

“But there is another element to that, of course, which is raising revenue, which is absolutely crucial for museums to thrive.

“Obviously we’re always looking at new innovations that can help engage audiences. And if that brings us revenue too that’s wonderful.”

All national galleries charge for admission to special exhibitions, she added.

The gallery has forecast an operating deficit for the latest financial year.

The use of the striking paintings and photos with animated graphics, music and narration was a “powerful combination”, Siddall said.

The exhibition is being held in a pop-up venue at MediaCity in Salford until August and will then tour to five more locations, but they have not been announced.

The venue’s walls are filled with about 40 giant picture frame-style boxes, which the portraits and animations are projected onto.

Some of the chosen personalities, such as Malala Yousafzai, Churchill and Audrey Hepburn, tell their stories in their own words; while actors narrate the sections about others, including William Shakespeare and Emmeline Pankhurst.

It’s a whistlestop guide to selected slices of history, with each person’s story told in two or three minutes, and the entire show taking about 45 minutes. It ends with Queen Elizabeth II.

Standard adult tickets cost between £22 and £30, with an extra £5 for a flexible ticket, and some “affordable” £10 tickets available on Mondays.

Joy Coker, editor of arts outlet Alt A Review, said she thought it was worth it, but that the price could exclude some people.

“Right now with the cost of living it might not be something everybody can afford,” she said.

“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 a looking at a portrait on its own.”

In recent years, artists from Vincent van Gogh to David Hockney have successfully been given the immersive treatment.

This weekend, LS Lowry will also be added to the list when a new, free immersive experience brings his trademark matchstick men to life at Salford’s Lowry arts centre.

The walls, floor and ceiling of one gallery become the canvas for projections of the artist’s 1953 painting Going To The Match. The crowds flocking to watch Bolton Wanderers FC are animated, zooming in on sections of the artwork.

The six-minute experience is narrated by Bolton comedian and actress Sophie Willan, and visitors can then see the real painting in the next gallery.

“People are going and standing in front of the painting and then looking for elements that have come to life, and that is a different way for them to be able to engage with the real artwork,” The Lowry chief executive Julia Fawcett explained.

The venue bought the painting for almost £8m in 2022 and has spent two years working on the immersive version. Fawcett said she did not consider charging for entry.

“Our galleries are free and this is part of our gallery offer,” she said. “For us, it was about making sure we reached the widest possible audience.

“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 and deepening people’s love and appreciation of the artist, to put a barrier in place.”