The GRAMMY Museum had a big year in 2024. The Museum continued to showcase groundbreaking and thought-provoking exhibitions, and explore new partnerships.
Currently on display at the Downtown Los Angeles space are Luther Vandross: Artistry and Elegance, which explores the R&B legend’s career, and over 150 works by Bay Area photographer Jay Blakesberg, RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped. The GRAMMY Museum’s annual crowd pleaser, On the Red Carpet is also on display, featuring Taylor Swift’s white strapless Schiaparelli dress worn to last year’s GRAMMY Awards.
In addition to hosting dozens of exciting events in the Museum's intimate Clive Davis Theater, the GRAMMY Museum featured 28 artists in its "A New York Evening With..." public programming. Taking place at venues throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, these programs are made possible through the Dawn and Brian Hoesterey Family Foundation.
And while 2024 was stellar, all signs point to the institution having an even bigger year in 2025.
The big attraction so far in 2025 is the GRAMMY Museum’s newest permanent exhibition, the hands-on Sonic Playground. Launched in February, the exhibit is "a truly one-of-a-kind music making experience," according to the GRAMMY Museum’s President and CEO Michael Sticka. The interactive exhibition is, in part, aimed at attracting younger music lovers, who can now visit the GRAMMY Museum for free.
The GRAMMY Museum's public programming is also continuing in earnest. March sees special performances by GRAMMY nominees Japanese Breakfast and Anoushka Shankar, plus rising star Nubya Garcia.
The GRAMMY Museum’s reach, particularly through its education initiatives, is growing exponentially, most notably with the expansion of GRAMMY Camp to three cities: its homebase of Los Angeles, and as of this summer, Miami and New York.
Below take a look at how the GRAMMY Museum is expanding its mission in the upcoming year.
The GRAMMY Museum Encourages Young Visitors With Free Admission
On Jan. 25, 2025, the GRAMMY Museum kicked off free general admission for visitors ages 17 and under. This policy, which is made possible by Campaign for Music Education, is a significant one for the GRAMMY Museum.
"The core of our mission is to expose to as many people as possible as much music as possible and to do so in an educational and engaging way," says Sticka. "The obvious way to do that was to remove any barriers that might exist preventing us from achieving our mission. By doing just that, the significance for the museum will be seen and felt in the impact we have through welcoming more young people to our galleries."
The GRAMMY Museum anticipates its annual numbers will double as awareness around the free admission policy for young people grows. Museum officials expect the new program to draw in more school field trips, as well as attract families who can experience the Museum at a lower overall price point.
To meet the increasing numbers of young people, there are plans for more interactive exhibitions similar to Sonic Playground. "We want to be the most interactive museum in L.A. as a way to differentiate us from other cultural institutions," says Jasen Emmons, the Museum’s Chief Curator and VP of Curatorial Affairs.
Hands-on experiences provide great learning opportunities and make for a memorable museum experience so we’re planning to include more interactives in future exhibits, including one about music and video games in the next year."
Sonic Playground Brings Out the Music Maker In Everyone
The GRAMMY Museum’s most recent permanent exhibition, Sonic Playground, opened on Feb. 14, 2025. tHE interactive and immersive experience encourages visitors to touch, play, learn and create.
"With the museum now being free for everyone 17 and younger, we knew the museum needed to be more interactive so it would be exciting and relevant to younger audiences," says Emmons. "We created Sonic Playground as an immersive gallery that invites all our visitors to play music, regardless of their music skills or knowledge."
He continues, "We want to inspire visitors to tap into their musical creativity and become more astute listeners by making music themselves. If you make your own beats in Sonic Playground, I promise you’ll listen to drum tracks in a new way."
Learn more: At The GRAMMY Museum's 'Sonic Playground,' Art Becomes Interactive
The exhibition, which occupies the second floor of the Museum, has 17 interactive stations designed for shared experiences. These stations are sectioned into four parts: Moonmakers focuses on the intersection of sound and screens featuring the music/light/technology installation, Electric Forest. Songbuilders Hub guides users on music production with the assistance of virtual hosts such as H.E.R., Jimmy Jam and Prince Paul. The Roland Stage is a performance space equipped with guitars, Roland RD Stage keyboard, AX EDGE keytar and V-drums for percussion. The Soundtrax Career Wall highlights the myriad job opportunities in the music industry.
In the brief time it has been open, Sonic Playground has changed the museum going experience. According to Emmons, "Visitors are making music together! They’re also discovering unknown talents in one another, from a young daughter who has incredible rhythm, a mom who can really belt, or a dad who hits a drum kit like Travis Barker. Seeing music connect people of all ages has been the most rewarding outcome."
"Every Month Is Education Month"
Education is a cornerstone of the Vice President of Education and Community Engagement Arin Canbolat puts it best: "Every month is education month for the museum." This is apparent in the museum’s ongoing education programming and outreach to schools and music educators, which ramps up even more during March, the official Music in Our Schools Month.
Applications for the Museum’s first GRAMMY Camp (one of three, a first for the longstanding summer music education program), which will be held in Miami this June, are currently being adjudicated. Workshops are being planned and designed for spring professional development sessions for music teachers. Plus, the Museum is hosting multiple workshops for schools throughout Music in Our Schools Month.
The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum have recognized music educators with the Music Educator Award for the last decade. "The recognition of music educators through the Music Educator Award has had a profound impact on their work at their school sites," says Canbolat. "This award not only validates their dedication and influence but also elevates the importance of music education within their schools and communities."
This year’s recipient is the Tennessee-based choir teacher, Adrian L. Maclin who serves as his high school’s director of choirs as well as being part of the Memphis-Shelby County School District’s music leadership team and sitting on the boards of the West Tennessee Vocal Music Educator Association and the Tennessee Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.
The Award is more than a shiny piece of metal. "By shining a national spotlight on [music educators’] work, we know that the Music Educator Award boosts morale, inspires students, and garners greater support from administrators, parents, and local organizations around music education to ultimately increase funds and expands music programs to provide students with new opportunities," says Canbolat.
GRAMMY Camp Expands To Support Stars In The Making
GRAMMY Camp, the week-long, music-focused summer program that gestated superstar GRAMMY winners like Billie Eilish, Jack Antonoff and Maren Morris, will expand beyond its homebase of Los Angeles to New York and Miami in 2025 The sought-after opportunity, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, offers a variety of career tracks from the creative such as performance and production to music business options taught music industry professionals including GRAMMY winning musicians.
The first GRAMMY Camp of 2025 will take place June 8-14 at Art House Studios in Miami. The Los Angeles GRAMMY Camp will be at the Evergreen Enterprise Experience July 13-19 and the New York GRAMMY Camp will be at Engine Room Audio July 27 - Aug. 2. Applications for this year’s GRAMMY Camp are now open at the GRAMMY Museum website.
"Expanding GRAMMY Camp opens access to top-tier music industry education for more young, aspiring professionals," notes Canbolat. "We are removing geographic and financial barriers that may have previously prevented students from participating."
Learn more: Maren Morris On 20 Years Of GRAMMY Camp & Her Advice To The Next Generation Of Music Industry Professionals
While some of the programs offered such as songwriting, vocal performance and instrumental performance in any genre are offered at all three locations, others are city-specific. For example, Miami campers can take advantage of music production with a DJ emphasis and Latin performance, New York campers can participate in musical theater and Los Angeles campers have the option of screen scoring.
"[GRAMMY Camp] expansion means more diverse voices and perspectives can be nurtured, allowing students from different backgrounds and musical influences to connect, collaborate, and learn from industry experts," says Canbolat. "It also provides hands-on, real-world experience in areas like songwriting, production, audio engineering, music business, and performance — helping students discover career paths they might not have realized existed."
GRAMMY In The Schools Ramps Up Its Efforts
For 2025 and beyond, GRAMMY in the Schools ramps up its already robust suite of programs. This past January, the GRAMMY Museum hosted its 2025 Student Showcase in partnership with the Norris Foundation at the museum’s Clive Davis Theater. Participating students also benefited from the presence of music industry professionals sharing their knowledge and providing career tips.
Three years since the establishment of the Campaign for Music Education (which includes among its chairs Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes and Rosalía), generous donations have funded a cross section of educational programs. In addition to the free admission for young people, Campaign for Music Education also helps provide GRAMMY Signature Schools with grants and educational materials for public school music programs.
Following the expansion of GRAMMY Camp, GRAMMY in the Schools also has plans to grow in the coming years. GRAMMY in the Schools will be partnering with the Recording Academy’s Chapters to create bespoke programs in order to reach as many students as possible across the country.
Says Canbolat, "The education team has been working to create different models that can fit in various school settings to reach students and teachers better through music industry education."