Established April 2010 Website MIM.org Founded April 2010 | Type Music Founder Robert J. Ulrich Phone +1 480-478-6000 | |
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Address 4725 E Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050, USA Hours Open today · 9AM–5PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday9AM–5PMFriday9AM–5PMSaturday9AM–5PMSunday9AM–5PMMonday9AM–5PMTuesday9AM–5PMSuggest an edit CEO April A. Salomon (Dec 2014–) Similar Heard Museum, Arizona Science Center, Great Arizona Puppet T, Arizona Theatre Company, Museum of Northern Arizona Profiles | ||
The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) is located in Phoenix, Arizona. Opened in April 2010, it is the largest museum of its type in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories, representing every inhabited continent. Some larger countries such as México, India, China, Russia, the United States and Brazil have multiple displays with subsections for different types of ethnic, folk, and tribal music.
Contents
Overview
The Museum was founded by Robert J. Ulrich, former CEO and chairman of Target Corporation. An avid collector of African art and a world museum enthusiast, Ulrich and his friend Marc Felix originated the idea after a visit to the Instrument Museum in Brussels, Belgium. The design of the museum benefited as well from the expert consultation of the Musée de la Musique in Paris modernised in 1997.
The contemporary building covers approximately 200,000 square-feet, with two floors of light-filled galleries. Built at a cost of over $250 million, MIM creates an exciting musical experience for visitors. The exhibit for each country features a flat screen high-resolution video showing local musicians performing on native instruments. Visitors can listen to the performances through a wireless guidePORT and headphones that are activated automatically when an exhibit is being observed.
The facility contains a 299-seat theater for concerts, which are held primarily after regular hours. Joshua Bell recorded his album "French Impressions" in the theater in 2011. There is also a cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating.
A large number of musical luminaries have appeared at MIM, including Motown's Martha Reeves, Lyle Lovett, Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, Ronnie Spector, jazz legend Ramsey Lewis, and Grammy-award winner George Benson.
Layout
GROUND FLOOR:
UPPER LEVEL: MIM’s collection is presented in Geographical Galleries that focus on five major world regions. These are:
Museum galleries
The Geographic galleries of the museum is a collection of instruments and exhibits that focuses on the five major world regions.
The Artist Gallery of the Musical Instrumental Museum of Phoenix, is where visitors can see the clothes worn by many famous singers. They can also see and hear the original instruments played by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Carlos Santana, Tito Puente, Taylor Swift and many other artists from around the world.
Officers and management
Currently, the Board of Directors includes seven people. The Founders Wall was created in 2010, when the Museum was completed, and features the names of actual founders, in addition to those who gave significant gifts.