Seattle Museum Announces Nirvana Exhibit Closure—Fans Revolt

Photo Credit: davetoaster / CC by 2.0

Fans are upset with Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture for announcing the closure of the iconic Nirvana exhibit after 14 years.

Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP), previously known as the Experience Music Project, has announced the upcoming closure of its Nirvana exhibit on September 7. Fans and city residents alike are revolting at the decision, calling it a “profound lapse of judgement.”

MoPOP will be hosting a “farewell celebration” for the exhibit on Saturday, September 6, where attendees can “participate in a zine workshop, get a t-shirt printed, and enjoy guided tours and performances.” There will also be a panel discussion.

The museum’s website says the exhibit will be closed to “make way for a future exhibition exploring the myriad of music scenes and musicians of the Pacific Northwest across decades and genres.”

“Come as you are—and come soon! MOPOP’s landmark Nirvana exhibition closes September 7th after 14 amazing years at MOPOP,” reads the museum’s announcement on Instagram.

However, the event isn’t enough to sate Seattle residents or Nirvana fans, who are understandably irate at the museum’s decision. Many agree that making an exhibit featuring the numerous musicians and music scenes of the area does little to express the lasting impact Nirvana had beyond the Seattle music scene. It’s not uncommon to see young people, born well after Kurt Cobain’s untimely passing, sporting Nirvana t-shirts.

“What a profound lapse of judgement among whoever made the decision to close this exhibit,” one person wrote. “Imagine if the National Archives in Washington, D.C., decided to put the Declaration of Independence in storage, not because they needed to, but to make room for some new exhibit. See how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Some things are so important to our collective story that they should never be removed from public display,” their post continued. “People from around the world travel to Seattle for the sole purpose of seeing the Nirvana exhibit—it should be truly permanent.”

Several commenters expressed despair at the decision, noting they had trips planned throughout the rest of the year just to see the exhibit in person.

“Poor choice, and it shows based on the comments,” said someone else. “I visit this every time in Seattle. You should make it permanent.”

Nirvana was formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987, by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, while drummer Dave Grohl joined the band in 1990. They were the pioneers of Seattle’s grunge scene, credited with widely transforming the alternative music in the early ‘90s. After signing with GDC Records in 1990, Nirvana found almost instant success with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991.