An exhibition exploring the sensory world of sound to open at the Barbican Centre

‘Feel the Sound’, a new multi-sensory exhibition opening at the Barbican Centre in May 2025, will feature 11 installations, including six new commissions, and a new club space in the Centre’s car park.

UN BOUND created by Trans Voices ILĀ and MONOM. ImageCredit Zachary Hertzman.

The Barbican has announced a groundbreaking exhibition, Feel the Sound, opening on 22 May 2025. Through 11 dynamic installations, including six new commissions, Feel the Sound will explore frequencies, vibrations, and sonic patterns in innovative ways. The exhibition will span various spaces within the Barbican Centre, from the entrance on Silk Street to the underground car parks and outdoor areas such as the Lakeside Terrace.

Feel the Sound examines how sound influences our perception of the world, considering the body itself as a listening device. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a reimagined underground club space, a digital quantum choir, and installations that allow them to “hear” music without sound. Other highlights include Forever Frequencies, an exploration of sound’s ability to evoke memory through generative AI, and Your Inner Symphony, which combines neuroscience and design to capture emotional responses to sound.

Your Inner Symphony Kinda x Nexus.

The exhibition will feature collaborations with prominent artists and cultural groups, including UN/BOUND, a holographic choral project created by ILĀ and MONOM, and Resonant Frequencies, a multi sensory installation by Evan Ifekoya that draws on indigenous sound practices. Joyride, created by the rave architecture collective Temporary Pleasure, will transform the Barbican’s Car Park 5 into a club space celebrating underground rave culture, while Heightened Lyric, by poet Raymond Antrobus, uses kites to symbolise the lost dimensions of sound. Feel the Sound will also tie into a wider summer programme at the Barbican, which includes the world premiere of In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats, a new virtual reality experience that immerses participants in Acid House rave culture.

The exhibition will also travel internationally, with a planned stop at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives in Tokyo in late 2026.

Date: 22 May–31 August 2025. Location: Barbican Centre , Silk St, City of London, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: TBC barbican.org.uk.