Devon Turnbull’s Latest Immersive Listening Room Now Open at NYC’s Cooper Hewitt Museum

In 2024, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hosted the “Art of Noise” exhibition, which presented a history of the visual aesthetics of music, from the graphic design of concert posters to the industrial design of nearly 100 years of radios, stereos, and speakers. (See our article ‘Art of Noise’ Exhibition Features Audio Design At San Francisco’s MOMA.) The biggest draw of the exhibition for many audiophiles was the immersive audio installation by Devon Turnbull, who is also known under his creative pseudonym, OJAS. Turnbull is a Brooklyn-based artist and audio engineer who handcrafts high-fidelity audio systems designed to envelop the listener in textural, emotionally resonant sound. (These systems also happen to be gorgeous, and are often huge.) Now, those of you who live closer to the east coast will have an opportunity to experience both the “Art of Noise” exhibition and an all-new Turnbull-designed audio installation. The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City is currently hosting the immersive sound installation “Devon Turnbull: HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3,” which will run through July 19, 2026. The installation features a large-scale, handmade audio system custom-built from the ground up for the space it occupies in the museum. The museum will expand its series of music, sound, and design-oriented programming over the next months. The full “Art of Noise” exhibition has been relocated from San Francisco and will open in the Cooper Hewitt museum this February 2026.

The Cooper Hewitt is an integral part of the Smithsonian Institution, aimed at providing “inclusive, innovative, and experimental” exhibitions and education programs that inspire, educate, and empower people through design. Located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion, it is home to one of the world’s most comprehensive design collections, ranging from ancient Egyptian artifacts to contemporary 3D-printed objects. It is perhaps the ideal place for Turnbull to exhibit his latest monument to sound. This monolithic work of functional sculpture was “created as a shrine to music,” according to Turnbull, who invites visitors to experience music in a dedicated space where they can slow down and engage deeply with sound. This is the third installment of Turnbull’s listening room series — “HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1” was part of a sculpture exhibit at the Lisson Gallery in NYC in 2022, and shown again in London in 2023. The second “HiFi Listening Room Dream” was part of the aforementioned exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

(It’s about) bringing back the joy of experiencing and sharing music together. My intention is to return to the kind of immersive listening we experienced when we were young, free from outside distractions. Presenting this work at Cooper Hewitt is especially meaningful to me, having grown up visiting the museum.

— Devon Turnbull

The listening room features Turnbull’s custom-built “speaker sculptures” and electronics, designed to offer “natural, realistic sound.” Turnbull created these custom pieces for the museum’s historic Carnegie Library space, with seating provided by USM Modular Furniture and textiles by Kvadrat. This is the largest and most “architecturally and acoustically integrated” of Turnbull’s installments so far, according to the Cooper Hewitt museum.

As part of ‘Art of Noise,’ Turnbull’s ‘HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3’ is an opportunity for visitors to have a rare and transformative dedicated listening experience and surrender to high fidelity and enveloping sound. At Cooper Hewitt, Turnbull has taken inspiration from the incredible millwork in Andrew Carnegie’s library for the site-specific design of the custom speakers.

— Joseph Becker, Curator of Architecture and Design at SFMOMA

Turnbull, along with noted music collectors, archivists, audiophiles, and musicians from the New York area and beyond, will “operate” the live sonic experiences on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. When there is not a special “live operator” running the show, the listening room will be programmed with genre-specific playlists selected by Turnbull. This winter, the playlists will rotate daily. Mondays are all about classical music, while Wednesdays will feature ambient music. Fridays will feature jazz. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends will feature a mix of genres. Capacity will be limited — a decision by Turnbull intended to preserve the quality of the listening experience. No special ticketing is required outside of general museum admission.

The Classical playlist includes a selection of international classical music, both old and new. Turnbull curated the list based on music he is inspired by and listening to currently. Some recordings were reportedly selected for their high dynamic range, while others showcase natural, realistic-sounding instrumentation. Two contemporary compositions by Michael A. Muller (of the American minimalist instrumental duo Balmorhea) are featured, alongside pieces by Rachel Grimes, Tobias Hume & Anja Lechner, Michał Jacaszek, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and others.

The Ambient playlist includes “a contemplative selection of electronic and acoustic ambient works, chosen for their depth, texture, and sense of space,” according to the Cooper Hewitt museum. It features music from Aphex Twin, Carmen Villain, Romance, Chuck Johnson, Hammock, and more.

The Jazz playlist highlights recordings from the legendary New York label Blue Note Records, all recorded and mixed by famed engineer Rudy Van Gelder, mostly in the 1950s and ‘60s. The installation aims to recreate the sound of the musicians playing live in the room. Expect to hear seminal tracks by John Coltrane (“Blue Train,” 1958), Herbie Hancock (“Mimosa,” 1963), Horace Silver (“Lonely Woman,” 1965), Thelonius Monk (“’Round Midnight,” 1951), Grant Green (“Idle Moments,” 1965), Lee Morgan (“I Remember Clifford,” 1957), Stanley Turrentine (“Shirley,” 1980), and Miles Davis Quartet (“It Never Entered My Mind,” 1956).

“Devon Turnbull: HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3” is running now at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The full “Art of Noise” exhibition will open on February 13, 2026.

More information: Cooper Hewitt