Pop-up as prelude: A ‘glimpse’ into incipient Guitar Museum
“Each builder or guitar maker has their own story, and then you buy into their story, and you’re like, ‘This is fascinating.’”
Guitars are more than the music they produce, Wilson Schünemann says.
“Each builder or guitar maker has their own story,” he says, “and then you buy into their story, and you’re like, ‘This is fascinating.’”
A pop-up exhibit, offering a preview of the upcoming Guitar Museum of New England, will begin to lay out those stories.
The exhibit will run through June 13 at 129 Commonwealth Avenue, giving the public a preview of the planned museum, slated to take up residence just down the street in the former A New Leaf building.
Co-founders Wilson and Jennifer Schünemann say the pop-up is meant to bridge the gap between early planning and construction while helping showcase what the future museum will offer.
What’s on tap
The temporary space includes architectural renderings, a video presentation of the future museum, and a rotating display of instruments. It will also host live music and small events during its run, which started with a May 2 Celtic harp performance by Jaimee Leigh Joroff.
The Schünemanns say the museum remains in the permitting stage, which they estimate is about 80% complete, with the hope of breaking ground this year if approvals move forward.
If all goes as planned, Jennifer Schünemann says, it will open in early 2028.
For now, the pop-up offers “just a glimpse,” she says. “It’s just a little taste of what’s to come.”
Behind the music
Wilson says the idea has been more than 10 years in the making, rooted in his personal interest in guitars and those who build them.
He describes his approach less as collecting and more as “gathering.”
“I like the story. I like the ins and outs. I like to know everything about it,” Wilson says.
Over time, that interest evolved into public exhibitions and eventually the concept for a museum dedicated to guitars as both instruments and works of art.
Plans for the permanent space call for a core collection of 70 to 100 instruments, including acoustic, electric, and experimental designs from builders around the world.
Jennifer says the pop-up helps make the larger vision more tangible for the community.
“We needed a place where we can show people how the museum is going to look,” she said.
More information about the pop-up exhibit and its events can be found at guitarmuseum.org.
