MIM Fact Sheet

North Tatum Boulevard at East Mayo Boulevard,
South of Highway 101, Phoenix, Arizona

The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) will celebrate the similarities and differences of the world’s cultures as expressed through music—a language common to us all. With musical instruments from every country in the world, MIM will pay homage to the history and diversity of instruments and introduce museum guests to their varied and unique sounds. MIM will be an engaging, entertaining and informative experience, in which the uninitiated and the knowledgeable, the young and the old will feel welcome.

Bob Ulrich, Founding Board Chairman
Billie (Bill) R. DeWalt, Ph.D., President and Director

Groundbreaking: February 6, 2008
Anticipated Opening: Early 2010

Architect: Rich Varda, FAIA, ASLA with RSP Architects, Ltd.,
Minneapolis, MN and Phoenix, AZ

Exhibition Design: Gallagher and Associates,
Bethesda, MD and San Francisco, CA

Landscape Architect: Ten Eyck Landscape Architects,
Phoenix, AZ

General Contractor: Ryan Companies,
Minneapolis, MN and Phoenix, AZ

190,000 square feet, on two floors
75,000 square feet of exhibition space

MIM will house permanent collection galleries; galleries for special exhibitions and hands-on experiences; a performance auditorium; an open conservation laboratory on view to museum visitors; a recording studio; a library; a restaurant; a coffee shop; and a gift shop with a wide selection of music and music-related items.

A two-story composition of simple, fractured stone forms, the Museum building harmonizes with the surrounding southwestern terrain.

Encircled by desert plantings and arroyo environments, the building entrance will welcome guests through a landscaped entrance courtyard, which leads inside to a bright and soaring atrium. A flowing “river” form creates the path linking the galleries. Floor, wall and ceiling finishes create patterns reminiscent of the geological striations of the Arizona landscape, of the rhythms of musical composition, and of the physical features common to musical instruments from around the world. Windows and skylights will illuminate the galleries and public spaces by day, and by night will glow with the activity inside the building.

The 300-seat auditorium will span the two floors of the building. Designed with spacious seating and state-of-the-art acoustics, the auditorium will be a premier venue for performances, films and seminars about musical traditions from around the world.

In addition to the shop, the restaurant and other visitor amenities, the first floor will feature a window into the conservation laboratory—allowing Museum guests to glimpse activities related to the care of the collection—and the Experience Room, where visitors may play selected instruments from around the world. The second floor will hold galleries dedicated to the Museum’s permanent collection.

The collection will comprise as many as 5,000 indigenous and popular instruments representing every country in the world. Many instruments will be more than 50 years old and will have been used for folk or tribal occasions. Objects in the collection will range from the exquisite heirlooms of royal courts to handcrafted pieces passed down through a humble family’s generations.

State-of-the-art audio and video technology will create an immersive, entirely shared museum experience, enabling guests to both see and hear the instruments being played within their cultural contexts.

Exhibition galleries are organized according to ten broad geographical regions. Within these regions, visitors will experience the full range of musical instruments, from the mountains of South America to the rainforests of Southeast Asia, from the African savannah to the mountains of Appalachia. In addition, traveling exhibitions will display special collections of instruments from collaborating museums, and permanent collection galleries will show how instruments are made.

Programming will include frequent performances in the galleries and demonstrations of instrument making. An ongoing schedule of live performances in the auditorium will make MIM a center of world music performance.

480-481-2460
www.themim.org

Amanda Domizio, Ruder Finn Arts & Communications Counselors
212-583-2798 / domizio@ruderfinn.com