"Techno: The Rise of Detroit's Machine Music" is an exhibit at the MSU Museum's temporary location at the MSUFCU building in East Lansing at 311 Abbot Road. (Courtesy photo by Aaron Word)

MSU Museum’s Detroit Techno Exhibit Showcases Visionary Black Artists, Afrofuturism Movement

Driving through East Lansing, public art is abundant, visible via murals, billboards, paintings, sculptures, window displays and more. 

The Broad Museum receives a lot of attention with its eye-catching landscape, but there are more venues delivering arts and culture experiences in East Lansing. The MSU Museum might be a bit more tucked away on campus than its counterpart, but its temporary location at the MSUFCU building(311 Abbot, 6th floor) still provides plenty of interactive arts, science, culture and technologies exhibits. 

The MSU Museum is one of the earliest established museums in the country, and also the first Smithsonian affiliate organization in the state. Since 1857, the museum has been a fundamental campus experience for students, staff and visitors. The museum is in the midst of an 18-month, $28 million renovation project. Infrastructure upgrades include climate control systems, accessibility enhancements and immersive labs. 

MSU Museum’s latest exhibit, “Techno: The Rise of Detroit’s Machine Music,” is a celebration of visionary music made by Black artists and the Afrofuturism movement. Although the Motor City is typically known for being the home of Motown and soul music, it’s also the birthplace of Techno music. This immersive exhibit invites visitors to experience a 45-minute sound installation by Detroit Techno collective, Underground Resistance, and a video installation from Detroit artist Andrew Charles Edman (ACE). The exhibit is on display now until April 30. 

The exhibit will feature audio and visual components. (Courtesy photo by Aaron Word)

Julian Chambliss is the Val Berryman Curator of History at the MSU Museum and a professor of English. Much of his work and research surrounds race, identity, and power in real and imagined urban spaces. Some of this research shows up in curated art shows, museum exhibits and other public displays. 

“My first exhibition was about Afrofuturism and American comics, called ‘Beyond the Black Panther,‘” Chambliss said. “This show is a follow-up to my exploration of visual culture and focus on sound and Afrofuturism through Techno.”

Afrofuturism, a term coined around 1993 by Mark Dery, is a cultural movement describing Black cultural practices that were inventive and transformative, said Chambliss.

“When that term was coined in an essay called, ‘Black to the Future,’ many of the examples he used were music,” Chambliss said. “Almost from the very beginning of the term being coined, music has been a part of how people define what Afrofuturism is. Techno is one of the genres that’s really a defining sound of Afrofuturism.” 

Chambliss spoke about the depth of cultural practices rooted in Detroit.

The exhibit celebrates the rise of Techno music in Detroit. (Courtesy photo by Aaron Word)

“Detroit has a long history of cultural innovation and supports cultural creators — writing, literature, art and music,” he said. “When you think about what Techno is doing, it’s simply a new generation of Black cultural production that is responding to the moment. The Black youth that create Techno are responding to transformations in the economic landscape and technology. They’re telling a story rooted in their vision of a future, and how they’re adapting to these transformative impulses.”

As the world’s challenges change and society moves forward, Techno is a reflection of growth, striving for improvement and an uplifting soundtrack for innovation. Museum visitors are invited to immerse themselves in audio and visual installations, see artifacts including speakers from Detroit’s Historic Club Heaven, iconic album covers, and more within the exhibit. 

“It’s a show that people can come in and be there for 20 minutes and get a lot from, but it’s also a show they can come back to over and over again because it’s a 45-minute audio component. It’s an interesting opportunity to learn about the sound culture related to Techno, and hopefully they’ll enjoy it,” Chambliss said. 

“My goal is that people who visit the show recognize that Techno is a Black music created in Detroit, and that it builds on a kind of cultural legacy and ethos that we can understand being tied to that place, and the vision of the future being articulated by the future generation of Detroit youth.”

The exhibit will include iconic album covers and other displays, along with special events and visits from speakers. (Courtesy photo by Aaron Word)

There are also additional programming events planned throughout the duration of the Detroit Techno exhibit, providing live performances and moderated talks. On March 15, there is a Techno Themed Poetry Slam at 311 Abbot. On March 20 from 6 to 7 p.m., there is a moderated talk with Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, DJ Holographic, DJ Minx, and DJ Le Femme at 404 Wilson Road, followed by a performance of Her Sound, Her City: Detroit’s Women Shaping Electronic Music from 8 to 10 p.m. at 311 Abbot. On March 27, Chambliss is moderating a talk with AbuQadim Haqq from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

On April 3 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Chambliss is moderating a talk with Jeff Mills, a.k.a. “The Wizard,” founder of Axis Records and collaborator with filmmakers, orchestras, and NASA. On April 11 from 8 to 10 p.m., Underground Resistance gives a live performance at 311 Abbot. 

The MSU Museum is temporarily located on the sixth floor of the MSUFCU Building in Downtown East Lansing, at 311 Abbot, and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.