Inside Grayson Perry’s powerful “Delusions of Grandeur” at the Wallace Collection
On the occasion of Grayson Perry’s 65th birthday, the Wallace Collection unveiled Delusions of Grandeur – its largest and most ambitious contemporary exhibition to date.
This temporary show is a rich and provocative testament to Perry’s imagination, blending satire, auto-biography, and a deep engagement with history and craft.
At the centre of the exhibition is Shirley Smith, a fictional, impoverished artist from London’s East End. A survivor of trauma and mental illness, Shirley serves as Perry’s invented counterpart and a vessel for exploring layered themes of identity, class, biography, and emotional resilience. The exhibition, Perry explains, is a kind of portal “where there are shifting layers of authenticity, of history, biography and mental health.” His invitation to visitors is simple but profound: “Give yourself up, and you will enjoy it all the more”.
The exhibition spans a wide range of media; including tapestries, ceramics, silverwork, furniture, prints, and even a duvet cover. The works are often direct responses to pieces in the Wallace Collection itself. Fragonard’s famous The Swing, for example, is reimagined as a bold neon tapestry entitled Fascist Swing, stripped of its male figures and brimming with political and cultural commentary.
To bring Grayson Perry’s immersive vision to life, the Wallace Collection collaborated once again with Imagineear, its trusted partner in audio tour experiences. Using Imagineear’s robust Mirage™ device, the audio tour offers visitors a compelling and deeply personal way to engage with Perry’s work.
Having previously created audio tours for some of his earlier exhibitions, Perry was keen to do the same for Delusions of Grandeur. From the outset, the process was highly collaborative. Imagineear offered guidance to Perry and the Wallace Collection team on structure, how long the tour should be, how many stops to include, what kind of imagery to use, and how to shape the visitor experience. Together, they developed a set of questions that would guide the narrative.
The resulting audio guide is unlike any other. Perry is unscripted, spontaneous, and unfiltered, his voice leading visitors through the exhibition with the same wit, vulnerability, and insight found in his artworks. “This is the most personal tour we’ve ever worked on,” says Will Penswick, Project Manager at Imagineear, “and, in many ways, the most ambitious in terms of audio storytelling’’.
So how was this intimate tone achieved? The audio began as a recorded conversation between Grayson Perry and Dr Xavier Bray, Director of The Wallace Collection. In post-production, the team at Imagineear carefully edited the dialogue, reshaping it into a seamless monologue. The effect is one of Perry speaking directly to each visitor – an experience that feels natural, fluid, and deeply human.
While Perry’s voice is the primary guide, the audio tour introduces another character at key moments: Shirley Smith herself. Perry, though her creator, felt it wouldn’t be authentic to voice Shirley. He envisioned how she would sound – grounded in her imagined history and background. Imagineear then sourced a voice actress who could embody her fully. A recording session was arranged, and Shirley was brought vividly to life.
The audio experience is not just an addition to the exhibition – it’s integral to it. It doesn’t aim to be technically exhaustive or universally translatable. Instead, it tells a story with emotional honesty and creative daring. As Will puts it, “When you have an exhibition like Sir Grayson’s there is no need to embellish the work. You just help make space for their voice to be heard.’’
A new stadium tour at Anfield!
Continuing their long-term partnership with Imagineear, Liverpool Football Club has launched a new stadium Tour to tell the complete story of one of the most famous clubs in the world.
The self-guided and multimedia group-guided tours, delivered on Imagineear’s MPti™ handheld devices, are available in English, British Sign Language, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Norwegian, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Thai, Indonesian Brazilian Portuguese and Dutch.
The tour experience has been split into three distinct and fascinating sections. During the First Half, visitors learn about the greatest managers the club has ever had (including the ‘Normal One’ and only, Jurgen Klopp), the origins of Liverpool FC and the development of its famous Anfield home, exploring A History Like No Other.
At Half-Time, visitors hear from fans and watch some of the greatest moments in the club’s history. They’ll walk down the ‘European Boulevard’ and meet the Liverpool FC Women’s team, reliving some of Liverpool’s most famous Stories of Success.
And…in the Second Half of the experience, visitors go behind-the-scenes, Inside Anfield on matchday, paying a visit to the Dressing Rooms and the Players’ Tunnel, all before taking a seat in The Kop.
Narrated by actors and lifelong Liverpool fans, David Morrissey (BBC’s Sherwood) and Jackie Jones, the tour tells the incredible story of Liverpool Football Club, its fans, its history and the club it is today. Visitors listen to expert overviews, watch exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and highlights, including immersive 360 videos of Anfield on matchday, as the Liverpool FC players take to the pitch, and hear fans deliver a spine-tingling rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Throughout the tour, visitors take on our interactive challenges and quizzes, and younger visitors have over 20 engaging, bite-size activities to complete in the ‘Kop Kids’ Corner’.
Developed in collaboration with the Stadium Tours & Experiences team at Liverpool Football Club, the newly released tour includes: new interview recordings with the Liverpool FC Women’s team and the Club Ambassador, Natasha Dowie, new immersive matchday videos, including newly recorded material with manager Arne Slot, and a re-designed look and feel reflecting the identity of Liverpool Football Club today.
This new tour is a more concise, emotive, and interactive experience bringing Anfield to life like never before, with something for every visitor at every turn.
For further information on this project or to find out how Imagineear can bring your stadium to life, please contact:
A fresh new look for Arsenal!
Arsenal Football Club, a long-standing client of Imagineear, are continuing to welcome record-breaking visitor numbers from all over the world to their iconic grounds in London, the Arsenal Emirates Stadium.
The Emirates Stadium Tour is a popular attraction for international and domestic visitors. Fans connect with their incredible stadium, favourite players and match-day experiences through the drama and excitement of the players’ tunnel, changing rooms, stands and the press conference room.
In the latest evolution of the Club’s multimedia offering, Imagineear have produced a brand new digital tour which reflects the sophisticated stadium technology and modern spirit of the Club. The new tour brings to life the stories and fascinating history of this much-loved and historic football team.
Delivered on Imagineear’s MPTi™ device, the new multimedia guide features an elegant and sleek design in line with the Club’s beautiful new branding whilst being jam-packed with engaging interactive features and games for all visitors.
Written and produced by Imagineear, highlights include: 360 videos and photography, player interviews, quizzes, puzzles and design your own kit games. Where’s Gunnersaurus? is a particular highlight featuring the Club’s beloved mascot!
The new tour is available in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and includes a British Sign Language option for increased accessibility.
‘We are absolutely delighted with the new update on our Imagineear devices here at Emirates Stadium Tour & Museum!’ said Megan Lloyd-Jones, Tour and Museum Operations Manager at Arsenal Football Club. ‘Through the modernized design, thoughtfully crafted script, and brand new interactives, the devices truly bring the story of the club to life! It is a delight to witness supporters of all generations and from all over the world engaging with the new content, bringing them closer to the club.’
The Arsenal Stadium Tours operate 7 days a week throughout the year: Stadium Tour – Arsenal Emirates Stadium Tours | Arsenal Direct.
Imagineear’s partnership with the Rijksmuseum continues
Imagineear is proud to count the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, as a client and this long-standing partnership has grown substantially with the delivery of 900 of Imagineear’s Maestro™ multimedia guide devices, bringing the total to 1,200 devices on-site.
The Maestro™ is Imagineear’s most sophisticated handheld multimedia device delivering high-impact, immersive visitor experiences. Beautifully designed, packed with innovative features and robustly engineered for high-volume, all-day operations, the Maestro™ also features an HD quality 5.5” touchscreen for speedily delivering crystal clear content.
The Rijksmuseum tour, delivered on the Maestro™, includes a rich variety of thematic audio and multimedia tours, as well as a highlights tour in 11 different languages, showcasing many of its 8,000 artworks, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer and van Gogh.
“The Rijksmuseum is one of Imagineear’s most prestigious clients”, says Eleonore Heijboer, Imagineear’s MD Europe. “We are extremely proud that Imagineear’s Maestro™ devices, our newest and most advanced hardware, are now available to visitors using the great Rijksmuseum app.”
The Rijksmuseum’s current temporary exhibition, Frans Hals, Way ahead of his Time, is one that we highly recommend visiting. Be sure to experience the multimedia guide and try out the Maestro™ as you enjoy Hals’ unparalleled masterpieces as well as the rest of the galleries.
Imagineear adds prestigious American institution, The Peabody Essex Museum, to its American portfolio
Our American client list continues to grow and we are excited to now include The Peabody Essex Museum in our portfolio.
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest continuously operating museums in the United States and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the United States. Its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-two historic buildings.
The Peabody Essex Museum chose Imagineear as successor to their previous audio guide provider, recognising our professionalism and ability to implement and deliver outstanding services and technical support, remotely.
Audio content is delivered to visitors via our intuitive Imagineear Web App (IWA) solution to their own smartphones or, alternatively, via our robust and reliable on-site device, the Mirage™.
Content is available in both English and Mandarin.
