Swedish museum honouring Avicii draws attention to mental health

Four years ago, the dance music scene lost one of its greatest DJs: Avicii died unexpectedly in 2018 aged only 28. He had taken his own life during a vacation in Oman. The news of the untimely death of the Swedish star DJ, whose real name was Tim Bergling, shook the music world. His legacy, however, continues to reverberate to this day.

From February 26, the interactive museum “Avicii Experience” in Stockholm is offering an insight into his life and artistic work. Visitors can not only see his pictures, videos and private possessions, but also listen to his unreleased music and relive intimate moments of his life. His childhood bedroom, for example, where he started making music as a teenager, has been faithfully recreated.

Per Sundin, co-founder of “Avicii Experience,” emphasises the exhibition’s interactivity. “You can go into the studio where he recorded all his big songs and into his house in Los Angeles with virtual reality glasses.” Visitors can even record a version of the song ‘Wake Me Up.’ There are also videos and interviews with Tim. His fans celebrate the discography he left behind, and his influence remains strong in the music industry as well. In 2019, Avicii’s third studio album “TIM,” was posthumously released. Its twelve tracks were completed and recorded with the help of notes and messages from the DJ.

Soon, video game developers Hello There Games, alongwith Avicii’s father Klas Bergling, immortalised the exceptional DJ’s vision of experiencing his music in a novel game called “AVICII Invector.” After Avicii’s tragic death due to persistent mental health problems, his family acted quickly. They sought to talk to artists in need and continue to offer help today through the Tim Bergling Foundation. In a 2019 interview, Avicii’s father commented on his son’s death, saying a strenuous and exhausting touring schedule was one reason for the deterioration of his mental health that eventually led to his suicide. “Our theory is that he didn’t plan the suicide. It was more like a traffic accident,” Klas Bergling said.

On tour, Avicii could not have received adequate care due to lack of resources. That is why his family established the Foundation to at least help other artists recognise early signs of deteriorating mental health so they can seek treatment.

“Tim’s psychological problems are also addressed in the ‘Avicii Experience’ exhibition,” Per Sundin says. “We have set up a room where you can understand the stress in Tim’s life. There you can relate to how it feels to be constantly flying and going on stages.” Sundin added at the end of the exhibit, there is a church of sorts where visitors can “sit and reflect on what you’ve seen in the exhibit.” Next to it, he said, is a wall, a prop from the Foundation, with information on organisations that can help with mental health issues. Avicii’s father helped in conceptualising the exhibition. “We discussed everything with him,” Sundin says. “We even gave the whole family a special tour. They were very touched, but also happy, and said to me, ‘That was Tim.’ They had tears of joy and sorrow in their eyes.” The exhibition is also a way of coping with grief — for a father and for an entire nation. Because in Sweden today, Avicii “is very much regarded as one of the greats now — in the same light as ABBA or Roxette,” emphasises Mans Mosesson.