From Beethoven to Beyoncé

Why is music so important in our everyday lives? Why does singing together bring us closer? A travelling exhibition currently in development by NorthernLight will let visitors experience the personal and social impact of music. Employing state-of-the-art interactivity, ‘Music: hear – make – feel’ turns intergenerational exhibition-goers into musicians, composers and instrument makers. The project was commissioned by Museon (The Hague), the LVR-LandesMuseum (Bonn), Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum (Brunswick) and Limburgs Museum (Venlo). The exhibition ‘Music: hear – make – feel’ will open in November 2019 in Bonn, where it will celebrate Beethoven’s 250^thanniversary.

The exhibition will offer an experimental approach to music in a science-museum setting, enabling visitors to appreciate why music empowers us and is an indispensible part of life. Five different zones, each with their own unique identity, will connect music to a different theme: Self-expression, Body & Mind, Togetherness, Changing the World, and Joy. Surprising experiential elements include a sensory space that adjusts the music and lighting to induce relaxation. The self-expression zone makes creating your own pop song possible, while the carpool karaoke car celebrates music in a social context. In the silent disco, the audience can tune in to songs that express joy around the world.

From Beethoven to Beyonce: all genres and styles will be incorporated into the exhibition, making it relevant and inspirational for all generations and ages. The spatial identity will allow to experience the freedom of expression and diversity of music through the use of diverse materials. An expressive outside of the pavilions contrasts with the calm inside. Soul, ecstasy, voice, harmony and pulse evoke poetic connections with music and beyond. The visual identity reflects on this in a playful typographic manner, bringing them to life.

“What I have in my heart and soul – must find a way out. That’s the reason for music.” – Beethoven