Luci Creative, a woman-owned museum design firm, celebrated the re-opening of the National Music Museum. The firm worked closely with the Museum for the past three years to reimagine over 15,000 square feet of exhibit galleries spanning two floors. The first floor, with seven new galleries, opened on Saturday, August 26. The second floor will open at a later date.
Luci Creative orchestrated the complete visitor experience, crafting exhibitions that employ innovative storytelling techniques, creative artifact displays, captivating graphics, and interactive sound elements, all while highlighting the remarkable breadth and depth of the Museum’s unique collection of musical instruments. The new installations emphasize how people are shaped by music through the themes of human creativity, culture, and connection.
The original National Music Museum was founded in 1973 and is located in a historic Carnegie Library Building on the University of South Dakota campus. The Museum is internationally celebrated for owning some of the most historically significant musical instruments in existence.
“We believe the new galleries will move visitors to appreciate the amazing collection of instruments and the intimate stories each artifact has to tell,” says CEO and Principal AJ Goehle. “By looking through the lens of personal expression, spirituality, art, community, and more, we were able to develop an interactive and compelling experience accessible to all levels of musical knowledge and interest.”
Luci Creative partnered with the Museum for several years to reimagine and design the majority of the National Music Museum’s gallery spaces – a process that required not only selecting objects for exhibition but also refining the stories that would be told about them. The design firm brought on custom fabricator Ravenswood Studio, Inc. to build and install the exhibits, media producer Northern Light Productions, Electrosonic for AV Integration, Gravity Exhibitions for mountmaking, and Luxam for lighting support. Additionally, Schwartz/Silver Architects led the architectural additions of the building.
“Luci Creative really listened to what was important to us and our stakeholders and reflected those stories in the new galleries,” remarked Michael Suing, National Music Museum Deputy Director of Collections. “Through this partnership, the National Music Museum will become a national destination bringing visitors a unique, enjoyable, and educational experience that will excite them about the world of music and musical instruments, no matter their musical background.”
The National Music Museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays from Noon to 4:00 p.m. A special exhibition, “As Good as Gold: The First 50 Years (1973-2023),” which displays some of the instruments that shaped the Museum during the first 50 years of its history, will also remain open through 2023.
In addition to the National Music Museum, Luci Creative has an extensive portfolio of museum planning and design projects. Clients include the Boston Holocaust Museum, Adams Presidential Center, Carnegie Science Center, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, McDonald’s, Microsoft Corporation, and more.
