The Bob Dylan Center® has opened its doors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, enabling the public for the first time to see curated exhibits pulled from a collection of more than 100,000 items spanning the music legend’s career.
The museum is dedicated to the study and appreciation of the renowned American singer-songwriter and his cultural significance. Visitors can see handwritten manuscripts and listen to recordings, notebooks and correspondence, videos, artworks, memorabilia, unreleased studio and concert recording and musical instruments which will be permanently exhibited at the centre. Some of the highlights include personal mixings of famous Dylan recordings and a 16-foot-high metal sculpture designed and built by Dylan himself.
The Bob Dylan Center® is located in Tulsa’s burgeoning art district, a culturally diverse district combining iconic institutions from the city’s oil-rich past, such as Cain’s Ballroom and The Tulsa Theatre, with an eclectic serving of arts establishments, museums (including the Woody Guthrie Center®), bars and restaurants introduced as the area underwent revitalisation over the past two decades.
Designed by Olson Kundig, the three-story façade of the Bob Dylan Center® faces downtown Tulsa’s hugely popular public gathering space, Guthrie Green. Adorning the exterior is a mural depicting a rare 1965 image of Dylan, donated to the center by renowned photographer Jerry Schatzberg.
The museum was created following the purchase of the Bob Dylan Archive® collection by Oklahoma oil tycoon and philanthropist, George Kaiser. Until now, the collection has been housed at the University of Tulsa’s Helmerich Center for American Research at Gilcrease Museum. Both the Bob Dylan Center and the Woody Guthrie Center® operate under auspices of the American Song Archives, a project of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), the largest community foundation in the USA. Visitors are able to purchase Dual Tickets for admission to both the Woody Guthrie Center® and Bob Dylan Center at a discounted price of $20 USD, under the partnership of American Song Archives, with adult tickets to the Bob Dylan Center® otherwise being $12 USD, available for pre-purchase online or at the center. Senior citizens tickets are $10 USD and children aged 17 and under are free. Memberships to the Dylan Center and the Woody Guthrie Center are also available offering members exclusive deals and discounts.
The dedicated museum is the latest addition to Oklahoma’s must-see music locations, with customisable itineraries available on TravelOK.com that centre around famous Oklahoma artists and stand-out music genres and venues.
Of the opening, Todd Stallbaumer, Consumer & Trade Marketing Director at Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation, commented “With roots in American Folk, known as the music of the people, Oklahoma’s music scene has played a significant part in the USA’s musical heritage, with a wide range of artists from Woody Guthrie to Carrie Underwood hailing from the state. Oklahoma Tourism has introduced music-inspired itineraries as part of the Oklahoma Music Trail and we’re delighted to add the Bob Dylan Center to the list of must-visit music inspired locations in Oklahoma. Dylan, much like Oklahoma’s Woody Guthrie whose dedicated archive Center sits directly opposite the new Bob Dylan Center, has had a profound influence on American popular culture and we welcome international visitors to explore his archives while in Tulsa.”
To plan a visit to the Bob Dylan Center as part of a music-inspired Oklahoma road trip, visit www.TravelOK.com.
