2021 MEDIA KIT - National Museum of African ...
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2021 MEDIA KIT
WE’RE DRIVEN BY OUR MISSION SO
THAT WE REALIZE OUR VISION
VISION
To educate the world, preserve the legacy and celebrate the central role
African Americans play in creating the American soundtrack.
MISSION
The National Museum of African American Music is the premier global
destination for music lovers of all generations that inspires, educates, and
transforms your appreciation of American Music.
ABOUT
The National Museum of African American Music is a 56,000 square-foot
facility that encourages visitors to discover the many connections and influences
that African American composers have had on all genres of music. From classical
to country to jazz and hip-hop, NMAAM will integrate history and interactive
technology to share the untold story of more than 50 music genres and subgenres.
It will be anunparalleled institution, not limited by a record label, genre or recording
artist, but instead will tell the unique narrative of African American music.
LEARN MORE AT NMAAM.ORG
1
ROOTS THEATER
Museum visitors begin their NMAAM journey in the Roots Theater with an introductory film presentation
thatgives an overview of west and central African cultures and the institution of slavery. The presentation
focuseson the evolution of the African American journey, with specific emphasis on the creation of new
music traditions – spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, R&B, and hip hop – that are distinctly African American in
nature. The film also emphasizes historical periods, such as Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration,
World Wars I and II, and the Harlem Renaissance, etc., and the impact they had on the development of these
musical styles. The theater has seating for approximately 190 and can also be used for film screenings,
lectures, music performances and concerts.
2
A LOOK INSIDE
The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) opened its doors in January 2021 to the public in
Nashville, Tenn. The 56,000-square-foot facility is one of the anchor tenants within the urban development known
as Fifth + Broadway located in the heart of Music City. It is the only museum dedicated to educating, preserving
and celebrating more than 50 music genres and styles that were created, influenced and/or inspired by African
Americans. Some of these genres include spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues (R&B), and hip hop.
Using artifacts, objects, memorabilia, clothing and state-of-the-art technology, each of the museum galleries is
designed to share different narratives and unique perspectives on African American music and history. The
museum will tell the story of how a distinct group of people used their artistry to impact and change the world.
3
RIVERS OF RHYTHM
The Rivers of Rhythm corridor is the central spine of the museum experience and features touch panel
interactives and an animated timeline that links American history and American music history. Museum
visitors will experience the early beginnings of American music with Southern religious and blues
traditions, to the most contemporary R&B and hip hop musical forms. The corridor also features periodic
immersive-filmexperiences that place visitors amid iconic music moments..
4
WADE IN THE WATER
The Wade in the Water gallery documents the history and influence of religious music from indigenous
African music that survived during slavery to the formation of African American spirituals and hymns, to
the “Golden Age of Gospel” in the 1940s–1960s and its commercial growth. Exploration includes the
influence of gospel vocal groups on secular singing in doo-wop, R&B, and soul music, as well as the impact
that religious music had throughout the 20th century and into the new millennium.
5
CROSSROADS
The Crossroads gallery chronicles the history and influence of the blues. This musical style’s humble origins
are rooted in the work songs and field hollers sung by sharecroppers and lumber mill workers throughout the
post-slavery period in the Deep South and the Mississippi Delta in the 19th century. As African Americans
migrated from the rural South to urban cities in the North, they took the blues and other musical and cultural
traditions with them. The gallery introduces museum visitors to female blues singers who recorded “race
records” in the 1920s, and details how the blues influenced white country music and the rock and roll sound
of the 1950s. The narrative ends with a further look into contemporary blues and its modern masters, many of
whom were a part of the Great Migration.
6
A LOVE SUPREME
The Love Supreme gallery begins with the survival of African indigenous musical traditions in Congo Square
in New Orleans and explores their influence on a new form of music emerging from the city in the 1900s that
became known as “jazz.” A hybrid of spirituals, ragtime, blues and minstrelsy, jazz eventually migrates with its
musicians to urban centers in the North, and the music becomes a national phenomenon. Museum visitors
can explore the transformation of jazz into various musical styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, cool and
hard bop, fusion, etc., as well as discover those legendary jazz musicians who have contributed to the evolution
of jazz’s artistic growth throughout the years and into the modern 21st century.
7
ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE
One Nation Under a Groove documents the history and influence of rhythm and blues (R&B), which emerged
in the years following the end of World War II. Museum visitors will learn the stories behind record labels such
as Motown, Stax and Philadelphia International, among others. The gallery showcases the emergence of the
music-dance television program “Soul Train” and the 24-hour cable music channel MTV, which played a role
in establishing Black pop music as a dominant commercial genre.
8
THE MESSAGE
The Message gallery explores the origins of both hip-hop and rap in the decay of New York’s South
Bronx. Museum visitors will learn about the era’s minority youth culture, which incorporated DJ-driven
music, breakdancing, graffiti art and streetwear fashion into the amalgam of hip-hop. Museum visitors
will explore the truth to power message and how it resonates with the disenfranchised in both the U.S.
and across the globe.
9STORYTELLERS
MUSEUM
H. Beecher Hicks III Tuwisha Rogers Simpson Vince PremDas Dr. Dina Bennett
President and CEO VP, Brand and Partnerships Director of Development Curatorial Director
Tamar Smithers Dr. John E. Fleming Don Hardin
Director of Education and Museum Director in Project Manager,
Public Programs Residence NMAAM Construction
INQUIRIES
MEDIA CONTACT
For any media inquiries, please email Marlyncia Pierce at mpierce@nmaam.org or call (615) 259-4000
ADDRESS EMAIL
MEDIA
National Museum of African American Music media@nmaam.org
510 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203 WEBSITE
(615) 301-8724 www.nmaam.org 10510 BROADWAY NASHVILLE, TN 37203
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