Just months after its installation, the Georgia Music Collections exhibit from the University of Georgia Libraries, currently on display at the new Akins Ford Arena in Athens, has brought home its first award.
The exhibit was recognized as a 2025 Travel Blazer by the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus earlier this month. The award celebrates innovative destination development projects that enhance local tourism.
Displaying memorabilia preserved at the UGA Special Collections Libraries Building and on loan from international recording stars, the exhibit honors more than 200 legendary artists who have shaped Georgia’s musical heritage. The interactive installation features historic instruments played on iconic stages, performance costumes, and a collection of posters, memorabilia and albums spanning multiple genres and four interactive stations where visitors can explore the state’s rich musical legacy.
Earlier this month, music collections curator Ryan Lewis led community members on free tours of the attraction, which is on view to concert-goers, those in attendance at the Rock Lobsters hockey games, and other arena events.
"The Georgia Music Collections exhibit at the Akins Ford Arena gives us an incredible opportunity to tell the ongoing story of music made in Georgia through seven annually rotating exhibit cases, poster and flier installations and interactive experiences,” Lewis said. “We are excited to tell these stories in a way that enhances Athens' tourism."
In addition to the display at the arena, which is part of the Classic Center campus, items from the Georgia Music Collections are available for research, instruction and on exhibition at the Special Collections Libraries Building on UGA’s campus. The Hull Street facility is home to millions of objects related to Georgia history, culture, politics, and media, and is open to visitors for free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For parking information or to schedule a tour, visit libs.uga.edu/scl/