Traveling Exhibit explores the sound, science, history, and cultural importance of the world’s most popular instrument.
The National GUITAR Museum today announced that its touring exhibition, entitled “GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World,” will launch on June 11, 2011 at the Orlando Science Center in Orlando, Florida.
The 5,000 square foot Touring Exhibition will explore the history and evolution of the guitar—from lutes and lyres to modern high-tech instruments—and show how the instrument became the cultural symbol it is today. The exhibition will feature engaging, entertaining, and educational displays specific to the guitar, including historical artifacts, models, posters, video screens, interactives, and kiosks. Educational displays will feature everything from how vibrating strings create sound on to the electromagnetic properties of an electric guitar—and even address environmental concerns about how the wood used to make guitars has disappeared through the destruction of rain forests.
“The guitar is the most enduring icon in American history,” says HP Newquist, the executive director and founder of The National GUITAR Museum. It has been around longer than baseball, basketball, soft drinks, and sports cars. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been affected by the guitar, whether as players or just fans of all types of music. And while this may be apocryphal,” Newquist adds, “it’s a widely held belief that the two most recognizable man-made shapes on the planet are those of the Coca-Cola bottle and the electric guitar.”
The Touring Exhibition will run in Orlando from June through September 2011. Additional venues are currently being scheduled.
About The National GUITAR Museum
The National GUITAR Museum, LLC (NGM) is the first museum in the United States dedicated to the history, evolution, and cultural impact of the guitar. Its Touring Exhibition, “GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World” will travel to 15 cities over the next five years before becoming the basis of The National GUITAR Museum in its permanent home.
The NGM’s board is comprised of individuals drawn from the music, technology, event, and museum communities. Current advisors include guitar greats Steve Vai, Johnny Winter, Steve Howe, Liona Boyd, and Ritchie Blackmore. The Executive Director of the Museum is HP Newquist.
National partners who will be promoting and supporting the Museum and the Touring Exhibition include Channel One, Guitar Center, Guitar Player Magazine, and TrueFire Media.
Source: HP Newquist – National GUITAR Museum.
