Olson Kundig

Olson Kundig is pleased to share that the new Bob Dylan Center will open on May 10, 2022, welcoming visitors from around the world to access and interact with the exclusive cultural treasures found in The Bob Dylan Archive®. Led by design principal Alan Maskin, Olson Kundig is architect and exhibit designer for the new museum, which will be located in Tulsa’s burgeoning arts district just steps from the city’s renowned Woody Guthrie Center®.

Dedicated to the study and appreciation of Bob Dylan and his worldwide cultural significance, the Center will serve as the primary public venue for The Bob Dylan Archive®, a collection of more than 100,000 items spanning nearly 60 years of Dylan’s career, from handwritten manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence, to films, videos, artwork, memorabilia and original studio recordings. The Center will be a dynamic, multifaceted venue, housing permanent, temporary and traveling exhibitions readily accessible by artists, historians, musicologists and the general public seeking a deeper comprehension of Dylan’s work, his influences and the offshoots inspired by his legacy.

“Olson Kundig is thrilled to lead the amazing design team creating the Bob Dylan Center, the new home for the Bob Dylan Archive,” shares design principal Alan Maskin. “The Bob Dylan Center will include immersive exhibit experiences with rarely seen artifacts that illustrate the creative trajectory of one of the world’s greatest and most prolific artists.”

The museum’s exhibits and highlights include:

• – A large-scale façade mural depicting a rare 1965 image of Dylan, donated to the center by renowned photographer Jerry Schatzberg.
• – An ever-evolving curated display of elements that illuminate the depth and breadth of the Bob Dylan Archive® collection.
• – An immersive film experience that will initiate visitors through an innovative cascade of archival music and film, directed by renowned Dylan chronicler Jennifer Lebeau.
• – A recreation of an authentic studio environment where visitors will experience what it was like to be present at one of Dylan’s historic recording sessions.
• – The Columbia Records Gallery, which will provide an in-depth look at the creation, performance and production of timeless Dylan songs such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Chimes of Freedom.”
• – A screening room that will showcase Dylan-related scripted films, documentaries and concert performances, including never-before-seen material unearthed from the Archive.
• – A multimedia timeline of Dylan’s life from his early years in Minnesota through the present day, written by award-winning historian Sean Wilentz.
• – The Parker Brothers Gallery, which will explore the creative process through the work of other innovative artists, in an initial exhibit curated by influential author Lewis Hyde.

59 Productions, world-leading specialists in design for stage and live events (including the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the record-breaking David Bowie is exhibition and the decor concept design for The Met Ball), is collaborating with Olson Kundig on the exhibition design and media development.

To celebrate this announcement, the Bob Dylan Center has shared a recently unearthed image of Bob Dylan on stage during his 1974 tour with The Band, taken by renowned photographer Barry Feinstein, as well as a previously unknown recording of Dylan performing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” This recording was made by Milton (Mell) and Lillian Bailey, friends and early champions of the young Bob Dylan when he was a fixture in New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene. This version of the song features alternate lyrics and is the earliest known recording of the song that was eventually released in 1963 on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Both the photograph and song are available for download, courtesy of The Bob Dylan Center®.

Founding Memberships in The Bob Dylan Center®, which include lifetime memberships to both the BDC and the Woody Guthrie Center as well as permanent recognition on the center’s donor wall, are available now at bobdylancenter.com. Annual memberships to The Bob Dylan Center® will become available later this year, including combined membership opportunities for both the BDC and its neighbor, the Woody Guthrie Center.

Both The Bob Dylan Center® and Woody Guthrie Center® operate under auspices of the American Song Archives, a project of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF). GKFF acquired Dylan’s vast archives in 2016 and Guthrie’s in 2010.

Information regarding public admission to The Bob Dylan Center® will be released later this year.

The Bob Dylan Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Design Principal: Alan Maskin
Principal (Architecture): Stephen Yamada-Heidner, AIA, LEED® AP
Project Manager (Exhibits): Marlene Chen, AIA, LEED® AP
Project Architect (Architecture): Holly Simon
Exhibit Design Staff: Ryan Botts, Brian Havener, Karen Duan and Aiym Zhumasheva
Architect of Record: Lilly Architects
Media Development and Digital Interactive: 59 Productions
Content and Copywriting: Ellipse Studio
Structural Engineer: Coffman Engineers
Exhibit Fabricator: CREO Exhibits
Lighting Design: Tillotson Design Associates