A new world-class museum dedicated to the work of Bob Dylan will open to the public next May, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Bob Dylan Center, designed by Olson Kundig, will be home to over 100,000 exclusive items from the Bob Dylan Archive, owned by the artist over the last 70 years.
This includes original manuscripts, unreleased recordings, unseen performances, photos and more.
An immersive journey into the Bob Dylan Archive
The Bob Dylan Center will be located in Tulsa’s arts district, close to the popular Woody Guthrie Center. The content will be displayed using state-of-the-art immersive technology and will be aimed both at long-time fans and those new to Dylan’s work.
Highlights will include a changing curated display from the Bob Dylan Archive collection, as well as an immersive film experience directed by well-known Dylan chronicler Jennifer Lebeau. The Bob Dylan Center will also feature an authentic studio environment, showing guests what it might have felt like to be present at one of Dylan’s legendary recording sessions.
Visitors will be able to explore the Columbia Records Gallery, which will look at the creation and production of some of his classic hits, alongside a screening room showing documentaries and concert footage, some of which has never been shown before.
In addition, guests will learn about the life of the artist, through a multimedia timeline written by the award-winning historian Sean Wilentz, and can also visit the Parker Brothers Gallery which explores the creative process.
Founding memberships available
59 Productions, a company that also worked on the Opening Ceremony at London 2012 and David Bowie Is, will collaborate with Olson Kundig on the exhibition design and media development for the Bob Dylan Center. The three-storey building will face Guthrie Green and will depict a rare 1965 image of Dylan, donated by Jerry Schatzberg.
Founding memberships are available now, with annual memberships becoming available later in 2021. The Bob Dylan Center and The Woody Guthrie Center operate under the American Song Archives, a project of the George Kaiser Family Foundation which acquired Dylan’s archives in 2016 and Guthrie’s in 2010.
Many new museums are opening this year around the world, including Berlin’s Humboldt Forum, MUNCH in Oslo and Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath.
Header image courtesy of Olson Kundig