Grainger Museum facts for kids
Grainger Museum, University of Melbourne
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| Established | 1938 |
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| Location | University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia |
| Type | Autobiographical museum |
The Grainger Museum is a special place in Melbourne, Australia. It holds many items that tell the story of a famous musician named Percy Grainger. He was a composer, a pianist, and he also collected old folk songs.
Percy Grainger was born in Melbourne in 1882. He later moved to New York and passed away in 1961. In the 1920s, he had a unique idea: he wanted to create a museum all about his own life and work. He thought it would be best to keep his personal letters and notes in a museum in his hometown, Melbourne.
Percy Grainger liked to use old English words. He often called museums "past-hoard-houses." But for his own museum, he agreed to use the word "museum."
Contents
Building the Museum
The Grainger Museum was designed by an architect named John Gawler. Percy Grainger himself helped with the ideas and also gave money to build it.
When Was It Built?
The museum was built between 1935 and 1939. It stands on land given by the University of Melbourne. The museum officially opened its doors in December 1938.
A Special Design
This building is very unique because it was made specifically to be a museum about one person's life. It is the only museum like this in Australia! The building is so important that it is listed on several heritage registers.
Restoration Work
The Grainger Museum was closed for seven years starting in 2003. This was because it needed important repairs to fix water problems. It reopened on 15 October 2010, looking as good as new.
What's Inside the Museum?
The museum has a huge collection of things from Percy Grainger's life. You can see his original music, published scores, and musical instruments.
Unique Items
There are also old recordings and many artworks and photographs. You can even find personal items that belonged to him. The museum also displays special sound-making machines that Grainger used for his experimental "Free music." This was a new kind of music where sounds could flow freely without strict rules.
A Huge Collection
The museum has about 50,000 letters! Percy Grainger wrote to many famous people, like Edvard Grieg and Frederick Delius. He also collected letters from other great composers like Richard Wagner and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In total, the museum has over 100,000 items. Only a small part of this collection is on display. If you are doing research, you can arrange to see more of the items.
Visiting the Museum
If you want to visit the Grainger Museum, here are the opening hours:
- Sunday to Friday: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
- Saturday: Closed
The museum is also closed on public holidays. It closes from Christmas Day and stays closed throughout January each year.
Past Exhibitions
The Grainger Museum often hosts special exhibitions. These shows highlight different parts of Percy Grainger's life or music. Here are some of the past exhibitions:
- 2018 Objects of Fame: Nellie Melba and Percy Grainger
- 2018 Synthesizers: Sound of the Future
- 2017 Grainger Photographed: Public Facades and Intimate Spaces
- 2017 Fugal Alternatives: Reverberations of Studio 01
- 2017 Instrument of Change: Visions of the Guitar in the Early 20th Century
- 2016 Percy Grainger: The Accidental Futurist
- 2016 Experiments in Freedom
- 2016 Water, marks and countenances: Works on paper from the Grainger Museum collection
- 2015 Pack up your troubles: Music and the Great War
- 2015 Patrick Pound at the Grainger Museum
