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Go-Go Museum
Go-Go Museum
Washington, DC, United States
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Go-Go Museum
Washington, DC, United States
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
0 sqft - 1000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
A Living Stage of Collective Memory
Washington DC , 2025
GO-GO MUSIC
Go-Go was born in the liberatory atmosphere of 1968, within Washington D.C.’s Black neighborhoods. For decades it remained a cornerstone of the city’s African American social and cultural life, supported by clubs, concerts, and independent businesses that built an ecosystem around the music.
The genre’s pioneer, Chuck Brown—known as The Godfather of Go-Go—defined its character in 1976 as a fusion of African and Latin percussion with funk, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. Its most distinctive feature is the uninterrupted “beat” that flows without pause. Rather than breaking between songs, the rhythm—driven by drums, cowbells, and percussion—continues seamlessly.
Beyond its musical identity, Go-Go embodies collective memory, visible cultural belonging, and urban resilience for Washington’s Black communities. Within the museum, it is framed not merely as a historical archive but as an active cultural reference point that speaks directly to the present.
THE IDEA OF THE MUSEUM
The Go-Go Museum was born from a social tension that unfolded in Shaw in 2019. A small MetroPCS store, which had played Go-Go music from outdoor speakers for years, became the target of complaints as gentrification pressures mounted and new residents demanded silence. Located on a corner named after Chuck Brown, the dispute became a symbol of neighborhood transformation and the threat of erasing local culture.
In response, more than 80,000 people signed a petition, sparking the “Don’t Mute DC” campaign and reaffirming Go-Go’s significance to the city’s identity. Activist Ronald Moten and scholar Dr. Natalie Hopkinson, long-time advocates of a Go-Go museum, reignited the idea in this context. The project thus emerged as a safeguard for cultural visibility and as a permanent memory space in a city under rapid transformation.
THE MUSEUM: PARTICIPATORY AND HYBRID SPATIAL APPROACH
The modern museum is no longer a silent corridor of vitrines. Participatory and interactive museology transforms visitors from passive spectators into active subjects of the narrative. Every object becomes part of an experience—touched, questioned, felt, and reinterpreted.
Here, the visitor is not a bystander but a participant in reconstructing memory, culture, and art. Sound from digital screens, surfaces animated by light, motion-triggered scenes, and touch-responsive installations allow each individual to chart their own journey. Interactive museology provokes curiosity, stimulates the senses, and empowers visitors to ask their own questions—turning history into a living memory that touches the present and shapes the future.
In this spirit, the Go-Go Museum translates the memory of the music into spatial form, embedding itself as a vital element of Washington D.C.’s cultural fabric.
Located in the historic Anacostia neighborhood, the 760 m² two-story building compresses diverse functions into a hybrid cultural space: exhibition galleries, a recording studio, performance stages, and a café.
Inside, AI-supported interactive holograms of legends such as Anwan “Big G” Glover, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, and Chuck Brown are displayed alongside personal objects and instruments. Documents chronicling the resistance culture of Black communities form another layer of the collection. Thematic sections such as Afro-Modernism, Don’t Mute DC, and Go-Go Women further expand the narrative, situating the museum as a multidimensional community space for cultural continuity in a changing city.
CONCEPT
Go-Go’s 1970s stages were defined by raw simplicity: music, people, instruments, and speakers. This directness shaped the design concept developed by architects Ceren Öztürk and Evren Öztürk. Instrument forms, the visual presence of speakers, and their urban imagery inspired the museum’s furniture and display units—sometimes through formal references, sometimes through the direct use of materials.
The speaker became a central motif of the visual language. At the entrance, the reception desk is clad with reclaimed speakers, stacked and painted monochrome to create a rhythmic façade. This design recalls the towering stacks of concert speakers but also directly references the 2019 Don’t Mute DC protests, when speakers symbolized the right to cultural expression. In this way, the speaker emerges as both a historical and contemporary emblem of resistance.
Exhibition units across the museum also echo the rectangular form of Black speaker boxes, creating a consistent design language that ties together diverse themes. The logo continues this visual logic, intertwining cymbal and conga forms into its typography.
On the ground floor, the red-and-white stripes and white stars of the Washington D.C. flag appear as a wall motif, anchoring the museum in its local identity and making the specificity of place visible.
Meanwhile, Go-Go’s graphic memory is carried into the space through posters printed by Globe Printing Corporation in the 1980s and 1990s—once both urban invitations to concerts and historical records. Their layered textures inform the display design in the entrance.
MUSEUM EXPERIENCE AREAS
Digital and Interactive Narratives
On the ground floor, visitors can engage in direct dialogue with AI-powered holograms of Chuck Brown and Sugar Bear. Through this interaction, a visitor conversing with the Chuck Brown hologram can see related objects or records illuminated whenever they are mentioned, creating an immediate link between narrative and artifact.
The collection also includes iconic pieces such as DJ Kool’s tour jacket and Little Benny’s trumpet, establishing a tangible connection between visitors and the musicians themselves.
In the lower level, a digital graffiti wall invites visitors to leave their own marks; these designs can be printed onto T-shirts as personal keepsakes. This surface not only offers an interactive experience but also references the visual memory rooted in Go-Go’s street culture.
According to designer Ceren Öztürk, the museum’s concept is shaped not only by Go-Go’s cultural and visual references but also by the integration of technology, transforming the space into a physical extension of digital experience.
Community Engagement and Live Performances
In the lower level, a “Tiny Desk”-style stage hosts regular performances by local bands, while the veranda stage is designed for weekly open-air concerts. In this way, the museum functions as a community space in constant dialogue with the city’s contemporary music scene.
Although Go-Go’s history has often been told through its male figures, the museum highlights the contributions of women musicians, DJs, and vocalists. This exhibition serves as a comprehensive space of remembrance, emphasizing women’s role in the collective memory. The “Afro-Modernism,” “Don’t Mute DC,” and “Go-Go Women” exhibitions further expand the scope, positioning the museum as a socio-political venue rather than one limited to music alone. With special tours, weekly concerts, and seasonal events, the museum evolves into a living cultural hub.
A Multi-Layered Cultural Space
The Go-Go Museum goes beyond archiving the past, positioning itself as a living platform that connects memory with contemporary production. Its hybrid structure links exhibition halls, performance stages, and community spaces through permeable boundaries, drawing visitors into a multidimensional experience rather than a single program. Through holograms, digital surfaces, and repurposed speakers, the space references both the visual memory of Go-Go culture and the interactive methods of contemporary museology. In doing so, it becomes a cultural hub within Washington, D.C.’s urban fabric—one that produces, transforms, and sustains memory in collaboration with the community.
Project Data
• Project Name: Go-Go Museum
• Location: Washington, D.C., USA – 2025
• Design Office: KO-Arch
• Design Team: Ceren Öztürk, Evren Öztürk
• Architectural Team: Sena Miray Çakan
• Project Manager: Ceren Öztürk
• Client: Timelooper Inc.
• Photographs: Timelooper Inc., Altuğ Kozikoğlu
• Lighting Design: Daniel O’Connel
• Graphic Design: Creative Junkfood
Washington DC , 2025
GO-GO MUSIC
Go-Go was born in the liberatory atmosphere of 1968, within Washington D.C.’s Black neighborhoods. For decades it remained a cornerstone of the city’s African American social and cultural life, supported by clubs, concerts, and independent businesses that built an ecosystem around the music.
The genre’s pioneer, Chuck Brown—known as The Godfather of Go-Go—defined its character in 1976 as a fusion of African and Latin percussion with funk, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. Its most distinctive feature is the uninterrupted “beat” that flows without pause. Rather than breaking between songs, the rhythm—driven by drums, cowbells, and percussion—continues seamlessly.
Beyond its musical identity, Go-Go embodies collective memory, visible cultural belonging, and urban resilience for Washington’s Black communities. Within the museum, it is framed not merely as a historical archive but as an active cultural reference point that speaks directly to the present.
THE IDEA OF THE MUSEUM
The Go-Go Museum was born from a social tension that unfolded in Shaw in 2019. A small MetroPCS store, which had played Go-Go music from outdoor speakers for years, became the target of complaints as gentrification pressures mounted and new residents demanded silence. Located on a corner named after Chuck Brown, the dispute became a symbol of neighborhood transformation and the threat of erasing local culture.
In response, more than 80,000 people signed a petition, sparking the “Don’t Mute DC” campaign and reaffirming Go-Go’s significance to the city’s identity. Activist Ronald Moten and scholar Dr. Natalie Hopkinson, long-time advocates of a Go-Go museum, reignited the idea in this context. The project thus emerged as a safeguard for cultural visibility and as a permanent memory space in a city under rapid transformation.
THE MUSEUM: PARTICIPATORY AND HYBRID SPATIAL APPROACH
The modern museum is no longer a silent corridor of vitrines. Participatory and interactive museology transforms visitors from passive spectators into active subjects of the narrative. Every object becomes part of an experience—touched, questioned, felt, and reinterpreted.
Here, the visitor is not a bystander but a participant in reconstructing memory, culture, and art. Sound from digital screens, surfaces animated by light, motion-triggered scenes, and touch-responsive installations allow each individual to chart their own journey. Interactive museology provokes curiosity, stimulates the senses, and empowers visitors to ask their own questions—turning history into a living memory that touches the present and shapes the future.
In this spirit, the Go-Go Museum translates the memory of the music into spatial form, embedding itself as a vital element of Washington D.C.’s cultural fabric.
Located in the historic Anacostia neighborhood, the 760 m² two-story building compresses diverse functions into a hybrid cultural space: exhibition galleries, a recording studio, performance stages, and a café.
Inside, AI-supported interactive holograms of legends such as Anwan “Big G” Glover, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, and Chuck Brown are displayed alongside personal objects and instruments. Documents chronicling the resistance culture of Black communities form another layer of the collection. Thematic sections such as Afro-Modernism, Don’t Mute DC, and Go-Go Women further expand the narrative, situating the museum as a multidimensional community space for cultural continuity in a changing city.
CONCEPT
Go-Go’s 1970s stages were defined by raw simplicity: music, people, instruments, and speakers. This directness shaped the design concept developed by architects Ceren Öztürk and Evren Öztürk. Instrument forms, the visual presence of speakers, and their urban imagery inspired the museum’s furniture and display units—sometimes through formal references, sometimes through the direct use of materials.
The speaker became a central motif of the visual language. At the entrance, the reception desk is clad with reclaimed speakers, stacked and painted monochrome to create a rhythmic façade. This design recalls the towering stacks of concert speakers but also directly references the 2019 Don’t Mute DC protests, when speakers symbolized the right to cultural expression. In this way, the speaker emerges as both a historical and contemporary emblem of resistance.
Exhibition units across the museum also echo the rectangular form of Black speaker boxes, creating a consistent design language that ties together diverse themes. The logo continues this visual logic, intertwining cymbal and conga forms into its typography.
On the ground floor, the red-and-white stripes and white stars of the Washington D.C. flag appear as a wall motif, anchoring the museum in its local identity and making the specificity of place visible.
Meanwhile, Go-Go’s graphic memory is carried into the space through posters printed by Globe Printing Corporation in the 1980s and 1990s—once both urban invitations to concerts and historical records. Their layered textures inform the display design in the entrance.
MUSEUM EXPERIENCE AREAS
Digital and Interactive Narratives
On the ground floor, visitors can engage in direct dialogue with AI-powered holograms of Chuck Brown and Sugar Bear. Through this interaction, a visitor conversing with the Chuck Brown hologram can see related objects or records illuminated whenever they are mentioned, creating an immediate link between narrative and artifact.
The collection also includes iconic pieces such as DJ Kool’s tour jacket and Little Benny’s trumpet, establishing a tangible connection between visitors and the musicians themselves.
In the lower level, a digital graffiti wall invites visitors to leave their own marks; these designs can be printed onto T-shirts as personal keepsakes. This surface not only offers an interactive experience but also references the visual memory rooted in Go-Go’s street culture.
According to designer Ceren Öztürk, the museum’s concept is shaped not only by Go-Go’s cultural and visual references but also by the integration of technology, transforming the space into a physical extension of digital experience.
Community Engagement and Live Performances
In the lower level, a “Tiny Desk”-style stage hosts regular performances by local bands, while the veranda stage is designed for weekly open-air concerts. In this way, the museum functions as a community space in constant dialogue with the city’s contemporary music scene.
Although Go-Go’s history has often been told through its male figures, the museum highlights the contributions of women musicians, DJs, and vocalists. This exhibition serves as a comprehensive space of remembrance, emphasizing women’s role in the collective memory. The “Afro-Modernism,” “Don’t Mute DC,” and “Go-Go Women” exhibitions further expand the scope, positioning the museum as a socio-political venue rather than one limited to music alone. With special tours, weekly concerts, and seasonal events, the museum evolves into a living cultural hub.
A Multi-Layered Cultural Space
The Go-Go Museum goes beyond archiving the past, positioning itself as a living platform that connects memory with contemporary production. Its hybrid structure links exhibition halls, performance stages, and community spaces through permeable boundaries, drawing visitors into a multidimensional experience rather than a single program. Through holograms, digital surfaces, and repurposed speakers, the space references both the visual memory of Go-Go culture and the interactive methods of contemporary museology. In doing so, it becomes a cultural hub within Washington, D.C.’s urban fabric—one that produces, transforms, and sustains memory in collaboration with the community.
Project Data
• Project Name: Go-Go Museum
• Location: Washington, D.C., USA – 2025
• Design Office: KO-Arch
• Design Team: Ceren Öztürk, Evren Öztürk
• Architectural Team: Sena Miray Çakan
• Project Manager: Ceren Öztürk
• Client: Timelooper Inc.
• Photographs: Timelooper Inc., Altuğ Kozikoğlu
• Lighting Design: Daniel O’Connel
• Graphic Design: Creative Junkfood
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