This summer, the Barbican invites Londoners to feel the music — literally. From 22 May to 31 August 2025, Feel the Sound promises to shake up your sensory system, turning the Barbican into a pulse-driven playground where neuroscience, sound, art, and emotion collide. And yes, it’s as Shoreditch-y as it sounds.
Reimagining Sound for a City That’s Always on the Move
Let’s face it — London is loud. But Feel the Sound isn’t here to add to the noise. Instead, it wants you to tune in — not out. Produced in collaboration with the pioneering women-led neuroaesthetics lab Kinda Studios and the always-forward Nexus Studios, this exhibition turns the Barbican into a living, breathing instrument. Think art meets science meets a seriously deep tracklist of human emotion.
At the heart of the show is Your Inner Symphony, a first-of-its-kind installation that tracks your body’s response to music in real time. We’re talking heart rate, skin conductivity, and those goosebumps you get during your favourite drop — all transformed into stunning visualisations across the space. It’s giving biofeedback, but make it art.
The Art of Vibration: Feel Every Frequency
Forget passive gallery strolls. This is an active, emotional workout. With 11 immersive installations spread throughout the Barbican, visitors will explore how sound shapes emotion, memory, and even physical sensation.
We’re talking full-body resonance here: you’ll walk through sound tunnels, move to rhythms from car sound systems, become part of an expanding digital choir, and yes — feel music even in complete silence.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Barbican’s underground car parks are also being activated for the first time ever, transforming these brutalist caverns into reverberating sonic chambers. Shoreditch creatives, prepare to update your Instagram grids — this is next-level.
Your Body as an Instrument
Feel the Sound flips the script on how we experience music. Through its three “sensing stations” placed throughout the Barbican, it captures your body’s emotional reaction to different soundscapes — the spikes, the calm, the goosebumps — and converts this invisible data into visual art in real time.
The journey ends at The Well, the Barbican’s central foyer, where everyone’s sensory data merges into a continuously evolving visual-soundscape — a collective emotional symphony created by the city itself.
It’s not just about tuning in. It’s about belonging to a frequency shared by hundreds of strangers, all vibrating at their own pace, together. It’s raw, it’s human, and it’s very much needed in a city that doesn’t stop.
Why This Matters (Especially in Shoreditch)
Shoreditch is no stranger to experimental culture. From augmented reality gigs to underground art happenings, it thrives on the unexpected. Feel the Sound taps into this same pulse — combining digital innovation with emotional storytelling. It’s the kind of multi-sensory, tech-meets-human experience that feels custom-made for East London’s creative crowd.
And in a time when burnout is fashionable and stillness feels revolutionary, an exhibition that invites you to literally feel your feelings? That’s more than just clever curation. It’s a cultural intervention.
Come for the Science, Stay for the Soul
Whether you’re an audiophile, a tech head, or someone who just needs a break from the algorithmic chaos of your day, Feel the Sound offers something rare: a space to listen to yourself. Not metaphorically — physically.
So, if you’re looking to recalibrate your inner frequency, swap your next scroll session for something that actually resonates. Trust us — your nervous system will thank you.
xxx
Feel the Sound
📍 Barbican Centre, London
🗓️ 22 May – 31 August 2025
🎟️ Tickets: barbican.org.uk
