The Detroit Historical Museum is recognizing 20 years of Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival with an exhibit that opens Sept. 26 and runs through the 2021 festival at the end of May.
The exhibition, “2000/2020: Celebrating 20 Years of the Electronic Music Festival in Detroit,” in will be in the Robert and Mary Ann Bury Community Gallery and feature photography from each year of the festival, curated by Detroit electronic music community insiders Rita Sayegh and Tim Price.
The photography on display “captures all the joy of Detroit’s famous festivals by focusing on the people who make the events so special,” according to the curators.
In addition to framed photographs featuring all aspects of the festival experience, the exhibit will include a living wall of fan photos from the festival’s 20 years with the names of fans who contributed them. This area will continue to grow as Detroiters learn about the exhibition and add their memories.
For those who can’t visit the museum in person, a virtual exhibit will accompany the physical exhibition, making it accessible to electronic music fans around the globe.
“We really wanted to tell this story from the point of view of the people who make Detroit’s festivals so dynamic,” says Tracy Irwin, chief exhibitions and enrichment officer for the Detroit Historical Society. “From fan photos to a display that gives visitors a backstage view of the action, this exhibit is going to be a lot of fun for anyone who loves the music or the festival.”
Sept. 26 will also be the first day of the Detroit Historical Museum’s Lunchtime Techno series, featuring songs by DJ John Collins, food by Guerilla Foods and Cold Truth Soft Serve, and pop-up record sales by Peoples Records. For three Saturdays in a row, Legends Plaza at the Detroit Historical Museum (facing Woodward Avenue) at lunchtime will host a new lineup of DJs and food trucks. View the whole lineup of Lunchtime Techno guests here.
The Detroit Historical Museum is open to the public with abbreviated hours (Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.) and enhanced health and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The new exhibit is included with general admission.
