Visitor Profile May 2018

Meet Kirsten, a marketing manager from Melbourne, in this month's visitor profile

1. What interests you at the Grainger Museum?

I knew about the Grainger Museum before, but this is my first time visiting this museum. I came here in particular for the new exhibition Synthesizers: Sound of the Future on my friend’s recommendation. I live in the suburbs of Melbourne and I spend my time visiting the city regularly, so I am happy to choose Grainger Museum as today’s city tour site.

2. What do you think about the exhibition Synthesizers: Sound of the Future?

I really enjoyed these interactive electronic music instruments. They are tremendous! Personally, I am an art lover and a music lover with a broad music taste, so I find it very engaging to interact with music in a museum. The video interviews on display on the iPads are also amazing, showing so much behind-the-scenes information about electronic music creation.

3. What is your favourite object in Grainger Museum?

Moog. ‘Signature’ Theremin, 1998.

I think it is fascinating how you can get to know Percy Grainger in this museum from different aspects of his life. I didn’t know much about him before, but after today’s visit, I’ve gained a more comprehensive understanding of him, such as his unusual relationship with his mother and his interest in design and fashion. To me, he is an interesting and somehow strange person with so many different hobbies and creative ideas. And I really appreciate his idea of experimental ‘free music’. I tried playing the Theremin, a 'free music' instrument, which is also my favourite object in this museum. Quite fun! Next time I will bring my kids here.

Visitor profile by Grainger Museum volunteer Phoebe Wang