Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa   26 May 2016

Auckland Museum announces

Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa

A landmark homegrown exhibition coming soon

Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa, a landmark homegrown exhibition on New Zealand music will open at Auckland War Memorial Museum on October 28.

A partnership with the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, Volume is the first major exhibition to tell the story of popular music in Aotearoa.

From Pokarekare ana to Poi e, from Loyal to Royals, from dance halls to DJs and from vinyl to mp3s and back again, Volume will take visitors on a musical journey through the decades from the 1950s to today.

Music lovers will get to roll up their sleeves and experience how music has been made, heard, and performed over the past 60 years in a ‘hands on, ears on’ exhibition, exploring the rich diversity and unique sounds that come from our place at the southern edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Visitors will be able to step into a recording studio and get behind the mixing desk, become a DJ and blend music and video, browse records in a 1980s record store, learn how to play the opening riff of an iconic Kiwi song, or step back in time and on to the set of C’mon in the 1960s.

Drawn from the personal collections of many of our most well-known musicians, Volume will feature costumes, awards, hand-written lyrics, instruments, memorabilia, and hundreds of images that showcase the music that provides the soundtrack to our lives.

A grassroots exhibition, Volume has been developed in partnership with the NZ Music Hall of Fame, whose trustees are Recorded Music New Zealand and the Australasian Performing Right Association NZ (APRA), organisations which represent artists and songwriters from across Aotearoa.

Museum Director Roy Clare says “Volume celebrates the story of the creators, musicians, thinkers, philosophers and dreamers whose music has enriched the lives of Kiwis and brought recognition for New Zealand across the globe for decades.”

“The Museum’s collections, resources and capabilities make ours a unique place in which to share the stories of the music makers from Auckland and beyond. Volume gives us opportunities to reveal stories untold.”

“From rock and roll pioneer Johnny Cooper to the myriad of diverse singers and song writers today, New Zealand music draws on and reflects our melting pot of cultural influences and touches the lives of all New Zealanders.” he adds.

Mark Roach, on behalf of the NZ Music Hall of Fame Trust, says “It’s our goal to develop, celebrate, and recognise New Zealand music and musicians, and with Volume we’re doing just that. Volume honours not only our inductees, but our music community and our rich music heritage and we are deeply indebted to the Museum for their support and enthusiasm for this exhibition.”

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of artists and many more who have been willing to lend objects for the exhibition, provide expertise, and allow their stories to be included,” he says.

Auckland Museum is proud to have the support of Spark to amplify Volume and to take the exhibition to new heights with technology.

Spark General Manager of Marketing, Clive Ormerod said, “Music is a huge part of so many New Zealanders lives -that’s why in recent years we’ve partnered with global streaming giant, Spotify and now, with Auckland Museum through Volume, to keep delivering amazing experiences to customers.”

“We look forward to working alongside the Museum to develop an innovative digital experience for visitors allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the impressive history and future of New Zealand music,” he said.

From the legends of the past to the future stars of tomorrow, Volume shines a light on a cornerstone of Kiwi culture every New Zealander will have a connection to.

Volume opens Friday 28 October and is open until 22 May 2017 in the Special Exhibitions Hall.

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