Carl Craig: The Secret Sounds of Rare Isotopes

Carl Craig spent three months during spring semester 2026 embedded in the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a world-unique rare-isotope research facility that is operated by MSU as a national user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

The Secret Sounds of Rare Isotopes is dedicated to the scientists, researchers, engineers, and staff of Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), this work transforms the invisible world of rare isotope science into an immersive sonic experience. Inspired by the extraordinary environment of the FRIB, the composition imagines the otherwise inaudible—the sound of rare isotopes colliding. Rather than recreating a scientific event, using sound to evoke the invisible forces of the atomic world, the piece offers an artistic interpretation of the unseen forces that shape our understanding of matter, inviting listeners to experience discovery through sound.

About the artist:

Carl Craig is a Detroit-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans sound, installation, performance, and electronic music. Emerging from Detroit’s influential

techno movement in the late 1980s, Craig has spent more than three decades exploring the intersections of technology, architecture, memory, and collective experience through immersive sonic environments.

Working across contemporary art and music, Craig creates site-responsive installations that transform space through sound, inviting audiences to engage with questions of perception, community, and the human relationship to technological change. His work draws inspiration from Detroit’s industrial landscape and the city’s legacy of innovation, translating these histories into experiential artworks that blur the boundaries between visual art, performance, and composition.

In 2020, Craig received his first major institutional commission from the Dia Art Foundation, creating Party/After-Party for Dia Beacon. The immersive installation was later presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA) and is now part of Dia’s permanent collection. His work has been exhibited internationally and continues to expand the possibilities of sound as a medium for artistic inquiry.

Craig’s career and creative vision were chronicled in Desire: The Carl Craig Story (2024), a feature documentary that traces his journey from Detroit’s pioneering techno scene to stages around the world. Craig continues to redefine what electronic music can be, bringing the spirit of Detroit to audiences from intimate dance floors to institutions such as Carnegie Hall.

About the MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residence Program 

The MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residency program aims to foster collaboration, exploration, experimentation, and innovation, culminating in the creation of groundbreaking artworks at the intersection of art, science, and technology. It provides a supportive environment for artists to create new artworks while engaging with the vibrant communities across MSU’s campus.

This program is supported by the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) and coordinated by the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB); MSU Museum; STEAMpower Project, Michigan State University’s art, science, and culture collaborative; and Arts MSU.

FRIB receives financial support from and furthers the mission of the Department of Energy Office of Science’s Office of Nuclear Physics.