Italian manufacturer Alcantara is making a grand return to London with a collaboration with multidisciplinary design practice Space Popular and the launch of the exhibition The Portal Galleries at Sir John Soane’s Museum. Launching on 29^th June and open until 25^th September 2022, this exhibition is inspired by Space Popular’s interest in portals and how these grant access to another environment, whether physical or virtual; guests will be invited to enter a parallel world thanks to modern technologies. The exhibition, born after years of research by Space Popular on the history of portals, was created in collaboration with Alcantara, Italian manufacturer of the homonymous innovative and versatile material.

The Portal Galleries will feature in three rooms of the beautiful national museum Sir John Soane’s. On the ground floor, the exhibition will take place in The Foyle Space and will allow visitors to enter portals through virtual reality headsets and two touchable Alcantara panels on both sides of the room will heighten the experience thanks to the technical, sensory, and aesthetic qualities of the material. The exhibition will continue on the first floor of Sir Soane’s museum-house, where a handcrafted ‘portal table’ will offer a three-dimensional timeline of fictional portals also showcasing a second spatial film. Visitors will be invited to interact with the table, entirely covered in Alcantara, designed to illustrate how the physical and virtual worlds are constantly connected. Finally, the second room on the first floor will feature Space Popular drawings and films on virtual reality. Alcantara, thanks to its extreme versatility, it is used in several different sectors – from automotive to fashion and accessories, from interiors to consumers electronics, yachting, aviation, and art. Discover visuals of the exhibition below.

The Portal Galleries exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, 29^th June – 25^th September 2022.