The Flynn Announces American Premiere of A PORTRAIT WITHOUT BORDERS

The Flynn has announced the American premiere of the interactive art installation A Portrait Without Borders, a mural created by the community and a team of robots from the UK-based studio Kaleider. For this project, the walls of the Amy E. Tarrant gallery at the Flynn will be filled with drawings of faces of the community, creating a one-of-a-kind mural representing all of us. Using a customized web portal, anyone can submit their portrait, which is turned into an original black-and-white line drawing that is drawn directly onto the Flynn walls by Kaleider's robots.

"We're thrilled to work with the Kaleider team to present A Portrait Without Borders, the first exhibition in the Flynn's gallery in more than a year and a half," said Flynn Executive Director Jay Wahl. "Whether you have been to the Flynn or not, no matter your age or background, we encourage you to share your portrait with us and be a part of this unique, uplifting artistic work. This installation brings many faces together in one space, linking the community together through art, and potentially reuniting people who haven't been in the same room together for some time."

Participating is easy: You simply follow the link to the web portal, select "enable camera," and take a selfie. Once you are satisfied with your picture, it is delivered to the robots to draw on the Flynn gallery wall. You can watch the robots in action through a live web stream on the Flynn's website. And be sure to come to the theater starting October 23 to see the mural on the walls of the gallery. It will be up through the end of 2021.

Find out more about this project and learn how to submit your custom portrait at https://www.flynnvt.org/Events/2021/10/portrait-without-borders.

The web portal is live and accepting submissions now. Kaleider's robots will start drawing in the gallery on October 9. All faces must be submitted by October 20. The process of the robots filling the walls with portraits will be livestreamed on the Flynn website so that anyone can follow along and look for familiar faces.

"Kaleider is very excited to work with the Flynn for the US premiere of A Portrait Without Borders," said Seth Honnor, founder and artistic director of Kaleider. "Our robots have been busy drawing in the UK and in Italy and now we're really happy to be drawing on the walls of the Flynn. Portrait is a playful invitation to join hundreds of strangers on the empty walls of the Flynn's gallery ahead of its reopening on October 23rd. We hope people will invite family and friends to join in and send their picture from anywhere in the world. If they can't make it to the Flynn itself, they can watch on the livestream as the mural slowly emerges. Once the Flynn reopens, the public will be able to visit and see the mural the robots have drawn."

A Portrait Without Borders is created and produced by Kaleider, a production studio based in Exeter, UK, led by Seth Honnor and producer Katie Keeler. Kaleider combines installation, live performance, and digital-to-design artworks for audiences in cities, festivals, venues, and public spaces all over the world. In the last five years, Kaleider has performed 144 international gigs in 14 countries on five continents to more than 65,000 people.

Kaleider is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, 2015-23, and is funded by Exeter City Council. Find out more about Kaleider at http://www.kaleider.com.

A Portrait Without Borders will be unveiled at the Flynn's Grand Reopening Celebration on October 23. This fundraiser event features a headlining performance from the sensational Afro-pop superstar Angélique Kidjo, and kicks off the Flynn's 2021-2022 season. Tickets for this show and more are on sale now at flynnvt.org.

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