The Seattle museum is replacing its longest-running exhibition with new stories on hip hop, Alice in Chains, Heart, and more.
SEATTLE — After more than 14 years on display, Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses closed this weekend at the Museum of Pop Culture.
The landmark exhibition, packed with rare artifacts from the iconic grunge band, was MoPOP’s longest-running show since opening in 2009. Hundreds of fans lined up Saturday for one last look.
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“No one sounds like Nirvana,” said 15-year-old Tacoma fan Makiya Wing. “No one is ever gonna do that again.”
“They have a very special spot in my heart,” added Ashlyn Cormier, who traveled from Boise to attend the closing.
MoPOP marked the finale with a farewell celebration that featured live T-shirt printing, DIY zines, button-making, film screenings, confessional videos, and a panel of Seattle music-scene veterans.
Curator Jacob McMurray launched the show in 2009 with support from bassist Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain’s estate.
"Nirvana is part of our DNA. It's not ever leaving the museum. We will always have a Nirvana presence," McMurray said, adding that fans can expect items like Cobain's smashed guitar to stay.
McMurray also announced MoPOP will broaden its focus on Pacific Northwest music, with 15 to 20 new stories planned for the space by November 2026. First up: Beats and Rhymes, a hip hop showcase opening in October.
“People also ask us, ‘When are you going to have an Alice in Chains exhibit?’ Or, ‘When are you going to get something on Heart, Jackson Street Jazz, Louie Louie?’” McMurray said. “It’s not that Nirvana is necessarily going. It’s that we’re expanding the conversation.”
SEATTLE — Seattle leaders are pushing back against the possibility of increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in sanctuary cities, after President Trump’s border czar warned that a surge could be imminent.
Councilmember Bob Kettle, a military veteran and chair of the Public Safety Committee, said the city is working to address crime without help from Washington, D.C.
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"We're up to 24 pieces of legislation." Kettle said. "The real time crime center, the CCTV, also the automatic license plate readers, they help system. This is making a difference for our city."
Kettle, who criticized the Trump administration’s militarization of the National Guard in Los Angeles this summer — a move a judge struck down this week — called the federal tactics “junior varsity” compared to Seattle police.
“No face mask, no face coverings. They have to announce who they are … They don’t come in all dressed tactical, dressed with face coverings. That’s not law enforcement,” he said.
Council President Sara Nelson also criticized federal actions, saying they undermine Seattle’s approach to building trust in policing.
“Not on our watch will ICE agents undermine our efforts to ensure everyone in every community across our city feels safe,” she said in a statement this week.
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Advocates with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) say they’ve tracked ICE arrests at hotspots such as 3rd Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle, often involving agents in unmarked cars. They warn the activity is creating fear that keeps immigrants from working in both urban and rural communities.
“It’s terrible because we can’t do anything without them trying to do something,” said Naomi Bailey, a White Center coffee stall manager who said she feared for her freedom after witnessing an ICE arrest in a drive-through in July. “I mean, I almost got arrested just yelling at them.”
Kettle argued federal agencies should instead focus on cutting off the flow of drugs and weapons into the city along the I-5 corridor.
“Our public safety challenges are driven by the fact that guns and drugs come into our city,” he said. “That’s what we need the federal government to be working on — ATF, FBI, DEA.”
Kettle acknowledged the city does not have a specific response planned if ICE enforcement ramps up but vowed to keep pressing federal government to “stay in its lane.”
