London’s Barbican Center is transforming one of its underground car parks into a rave space for a new exhibition called “Feel the Sound.”
The “multi-sensory” show will explore the relationship between sound, movement, and the human body. Running from May 22 to August 31, it will take over various parts of the brutalist arts center’s building with 11 commissions and installations. The Barbican said in a statement that the show “invites you to awaken your senses, embrace our sonic world and discover personal frequencies in a series of unique installations.”
“Frequencies, sound, rhythms and vibrations define everything around us,” it said. “From the soundtrack of our environments to the rhythm of our heart, frequencies are constantly creating and changing how we see, hear and feel the world. ‘Feel the Sound’ invites you to awaken your senses, embrace our sonic world and discover personal frequencies in a series of unique installations.”
Barbican Immersive, an arm of the center that uses technology and “digital creativity” to put on immersive exhibitions, has teamed up with Tokyo’s MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives to produce “Feel the Sound.”
Dublin-based Temporary Pleasure, which calls itself “an ephemeral architecture studio designing and producing temporary spaces and experiences in nightlife, music, arts and culture,” will take over the Barbican’s Car Park 5. This part of the exhibition is called “Joyride” and will blend “boy racer” subculture with “DIY raves,” otherwise known as music blaring from modified car systems.
Car Park 5 will also showcase an installation titled “Forever Frequencies” by research and design studio Domestic Data Streamers. The studio described it as “a team of 30 life forms focused on turning Excel spreadsheets into erotic lyrics.”
“Feel the Sound” will feature contributions from artists and collaborators such as Evan Ifekoya, Miyu Hosoi, Boiler Room, MUTEK, and Elsewhere in India’s Murthovic and Thiruda. Trans Voices, the world’s first professional trans+ vocal collective, has teamed up with ILĀ and spatial sound art studio MONOM for a unique project in the exhibition. Titled “UN/BOUND,” the installation is described as “a holographic choral exploration” that invites visitors to contribute their voices to an ever-evolving chorus.
The exhibition will travel internationally after kicking off in London in the spring, and will visit MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives in 2026.
