Frameless is heading to the National Portrait Gallery for a new exhibition bringing some of the most famous images to life

an image projection of Nelson Mandela in the gallery exhibition with a father and son looking at the portrait — (Image credit: David Parry / FRAMELESS – Nelson Mandela by Jillian Edelstein, 6 February 1997)

Whether you’re a Londoner or not, you’ll probably be familiar with Frameless, who did the almost impossible and made art unpretentious.

The immersive art experience takes all the big shots you know from coasters, tea towels, and historic houses you get dragged around on family holidays and transforms their most famous works into huge multiplatform projections.

Now the latest exhibition is heading to The National Portrait Gallery to immerse visitors in some of the most powerful stories behind some of the site’s most iconic sitters. Titled Stories – Brought to Life, it marks London’s first immersive art experience of a national UK collection.

Latest Videos From

a famous portrait of amy winehouse projected onto the walls of the gallery with a woman looking at it

Each session will run for 15 minutes, with visitors goggling at masterpieces transported into the lives of the most famous faces unfolding across permanent galleries. Now open to the public, it will be a much more limited run than usual, only open until 12th September. The limited-run residency in FRAMELESS’ Blank Canvas Gallery features Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, William Shakespeare, Amy Winehouse and Malala Yousafzai.

The idea is for people to understand the power of portraits and storytelling, whilst offering up an intimate look at some of the faces we think we know best. The exhibition will invite visitors to step into the stories which have lived in the Gallery for years, with detailed stories to go alongside the projections.

The stories are presented on a spectacular scale, travelling across specially created frames, drawing on unprecedented access to industry-leading visual effects, music and imagery, to give visitors a new way to experience some of the stories that form part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.

The new experience is backed by Ricky Wilson, Kaiser Chiefs frontman and former art teacher. Speaking about the new experience, he said: “Portraiture has always been my favourite part of the art world and technically, the first thing as children we learn to draw. Everything begins with a face, which is why portraiture feels so powerful and universally accessible. Stories - Brought to Life at FRAMELESS is such a brilliant gateway into arts and culture for new audiences, introducing people to some of National Portrait Gallery’s most iconic portraits in a completely immersive way.”

Tickets are currently on sale, priced at £27.50 for an adult ticket. The gallery is also running FRAMELESS Lates (for over 18s anyway) which will allow you to head into the gallery from 6pm all the way until 10pm if you’re after a quieter option.

The Little Door Co opens up a new Shoreditch location which is all about the houseparty

Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.