Michigan State University has selected internationally renowned Detroit DJ, producer and techno innovator Carl Craig as a MSUFCU Arts Power Up artist-in-residence, a program that brings visionary artists to campus to explore the intersections of creativity, research and technology.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in electronic music, Craig will be in residence from mid-January through April 2026, working in close collaboration with researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, a world-unique rare isotope research laboratory. Through this residency, Craig will engage directly with cutting-edge scientific inquiry, translating complex research environments into new creative and conceptual forms.
“I’m excited to join Michigan State University as a MSUFCU Arts Power Up artist-in-residence,” Craig said. “This residency offers a rare opportunity to immerse myself in an environment where science and creativity converge, and to explore how sound, technology and experimental research can inform one another. I look forward to engaging with the MSU community and creating work that reflects this unique interdisciplinary dialogue.”
Craig’s MSUFCU Arts Power Up residency is hosted by the MSU Museum’s CoLab Studio in partnership with FRIB and is designed to foster deep collaboration between artists, researchers and students across disciplines. Craig’s residency will culminate in a new exhibition at the MSU Museum in fall 2026, bringing his signature blend of innovation, sound and conceptual exploration into a museum context.
“We are delighted to welcome Carl Craig as a 2026 MSUFCU Arts Power Up artist-in-residence,” said Devon Akmon, director of the MSU Museum. “Carl’s visionary practice brings together innovation, sonic experimentation and cultural inquiry in ways that reflect the collaborative vision of the Museum.
"Through his engagement with FRIB researchers and MSU students, this residency will foster work that is intellectually rigorous, creatively expansive and deeply resonant. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of this dynamic exchange with our audiences.”
During his residency, Craig will participate in a dynamic suite of public programs that highlight the collaborative and cross-disciplinary spirit of MSUFCU Arts Power Up.
- In February, he will join acclaimed jazz musician and Michigan State University College of Music faculty member Rodney Whitaker for a public conversation at the MSU Museum, presented in celebration of Black History Month.
- In March, Craig will take part in a panel discussion on composing music for video games with Ryan Thompson, of MSU’s Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab, and Chris Vrenna, of the University of Michigan and co-founder of Nine Inch Nails.
- In April, Craig will appear in an Artists in Conversation program alongside Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm of Artificial Mind, who is concurrently in residence with the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. The residency concludes with a screening of Desire: The Carl Craig Story at the Capital City Film Festival, followed by a conversation with Craig and filmmaker Jean-Cosme Delaloye, offering audiences a culminating reflection on creativity, community and artistic practice.
Best known for expanding the boundaries of electronic music through projects that span sound, performance, film and visual art, Craig’s work has been presented internationally in both music and contemporary art contexts. His practice is rooted in experimentation, collaboration and systems-based thinking, making him uniquely positioned to bridge artistic inquiry and scientific research at MSU.
Craig joins a distinguished group of past MSUFCU Arts Power Up residents hosted by the MSU Museum and FRIB, including Violeta López López of Spain, whose immersive exhibition Physical Spells [The Wor(l)d in the Atom] explored connections between nuclear physics and linguistics, and Berlin artist Abel Korinsky, whose installation Monumentum transformed nuclear astrophysics data into large-scale visual and sonic environments.
At the same time, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University will host a MSUFCU Arts Power Up artist-in-residence, expanding the program’s interdisciplinary reach across campus. That residency will align with the Broad’s upcoming exhibition Synthetic Sirens (Jan. 31–July 12), which explores experimental contemporary art practices through sound, technology and immersive environments.
This story originally appeared on the MSU Museum website.
