Grammy Museum at L.A. Live sets opening date
Soon to be added to the nominees for best historical music institution: The Recording Academy has set Dec. 3 as the grand opening for its Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The museum, part of the L.A. Live complex across the street from the Staples Center, will first host a string of invite-only and fundraising events, and will officially open its doors to the public on Dec. 6.
The opening of the four-floor complex will come one day before the nominations are announced for the 2009 Grammy Awards, to be held on Feb. 8 at the Staples Center. The museum will house a 200-seat theater and a rooftop terrace for private/fundraising events and will be home to permanent and traveling exhibits.
The Grammy Museum Web site has a run-down of some of the permanent exhibits. The site lists one of the first rotating exhibits as "Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom," which will attempt to explore a 200-year history of music and politics in America.
The third floor of the museum is slated to provide a detailed history of the Grammy Awards and the process behind them, as well a step-by-step look at the evolution of a record, from the studio to the sessions musicians to the producers. The fourth floor houses one of the most promising-sounding exhibits, an interactive look at the development of music in various American cities, which visitors can explore with touch screens (a screen shot of the museums fourth floor is above, clipped direct from here).
The Recording Academy will host a media day and VIP reception on Dec. 3, a fundraising concert on Dec. 4, visits from schools and education facilities on Dec. 5, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 6. Live music will be performed at the museum throughout the weekend of Dec. 6 and 7. Ticket information will be released this summer.
The Grammy Museum has currently teamed with the Skirball Center in Los Angeles to present "Bob Dylan's American Journey: 1956 - 1966." The exhibit will close in three days on June 8.
With the 2009 Grammy nominations set to be announced Dec. 4, the Grammy Museum would seem to be an ideal location for the event. A spokeswoman for the Recording Academy, however, says a venue is still to be determined. The past few years have seen the press conference held in Hollywood at the Henry Fonda Theater.
