Coventry City of Culture Trust has announced that The Reel Store will host an immersive exhibition exploring the life and work of the iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo from 25 November 2022 to 29 January 2023.

The multi-award-winning exhibition Life and Work of Frida Kahlo comes to Coventry following its sell-out run in Madrid, which welcomed over 100,000 visitors. Conceived, designed, and produced by international exhibition producer Acciona Cultura in collaboration with the Frida Kahlo Trust, the exhibition combines academic research with an immersive spectacle that places visitors at the centre of the experience.

The exhibition uses Kahlo’s personal diary to take visitors on a journey into her intimate universe, inviting them to explore a new and fascinating side of the celebrated artist through different parts of her identity: as a woman, painter, and icon.

The immersive and audiovisual show is separated into three parts with a voiceover which highlights the richness of her writings.

The first part shows the artist as an acclaimed public figure in the 1930 and 40s, exhibiting around the world and rubbing shoulders with figures like Pablo Picasso and Alice Rahon. The second section focuses on her personal story, her family origins in Mexico, and the two most defining events of her life: a 1925 bus crash that nearly paralysed her and her tumultuous relationship with artist Diego Rivera. The third section of the experience centres around ‘The Blue House’ in Mexico where Kahlo lived, worked and died, and the site where many of her most famous works were painted.

Alongside excerpts from Frida’s diary that show personal and previously unknown facets of this outstanding artist, the exhibition showcases multiple masterpieces by the painter, including her famous self-portraits The Wounded Deer or the one dedicated to Doctor Eloesser, and other lesser-known works such as The Suicide of Dorothy Hale, or What the Water Gave Me. It presents an artistic reinterpretation of Frida's work using a 360º projection. A hands on display introduces visitors to the artist before entering the experiential galleries.

Beyond her iconic masterpieces and popular perceptions, the show will take visitors on an unforgettable journey of resilience, hope and bravery. Life and Work of Frida Kahlo is presented with an original soundtrack by Goya-award nominated composer and pianist Arturo Cardelús, which combines traditional European and Mexican music and captures the spirit of Kahlo’s legacy. The soundtrack has been recorded with the Budapest Art Orchestra by its conductor, Peter Pejtsik.

Life and Work of Frida Kahlo shows at The Reel Store, Coventry from 25 November 2022 to 29 January 2023. Tickets are on sale from 9.00am on Wednesday 9 November and can be purchased at thereelstore.co.uk