59 collaborated with renowned architectural and exhibit design firm Olson Kundig on the interactive, installation and AV design for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Center opened to the public from May 10, 2022, welcoming visitors from around the world to access and interact with more than 100,000 exclusive cultural treasures found in The Bob Dylan Archive. These included handwritten lyric manuscripts to some of the world’s most treasured songs, previously-unreleased recordings, never-before-seen film performances, rare and unseen photographs, visual art and other priceless items spanning Bob Dylan’s unparalleled seven decades as one of the world’s most important cultural figures.
Located in Tulsa’s burgeoning arts district just steps from the city’s renowned Woody Guthrie Center, The Bob Dylan Center features cutting-edge and immersive technology in a multi-media environment that is designed to be as impressive and revealing to visitors new to Dylan’s work as it is to long-time fans and aficionados.
Among the many highlights that can be found at The Bob Dylan Center are:
- An ever-evolving curated display of elements that illuminate the depth and breadth of the Bob Dylan Archive collection.
- An immersive film experience designed by 59 that initiates visitors through an innovative cascade of archival music and film, directed by renowned Dylan chronicler Jennifer Lebeau.
- A recreation of an authentic studio environment created by 59 where visitors can experience what it was like to be present at one of Dylan’s historic recording sessions.
- The Columbia Records Gallery provides an in-depth look at the creation, performance and production of timeless Dylan songs such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Chimes of Freedom”.
- A screening room that showcases Dylan-related scripted films, documentaries and concert performances, including never-before-seen material unearthed from the Archive.
- A multimedia timeline of Dylan’s life from his early years in Minnesota through the present day, written by award-winning historian Sean Wilentz.
- The Parker Brothers Gallery explores the creative process through other innovative artists’ work in an initial exhibit curated by influential author Lewis Hyde.
- An interactive digital jukebox designed by 59 featuring a special playlist curated by Elvis Costello.
