MDMA, From Molecule to Movement:
A Shulgin Archive Exhibition
The Exhibit
On May 2, 2026, the Shulgin Foundation opens MDMA, From Molecule to Movement at the Berkeley Alembic.
Through the artistic lens of Bay Area visual artist Hanif Panni, the exhibit brings visitors inside Sasha's laboratory, featuring artifacts from his bench and previously unseen documents from the Shulgin Archive that trace MDMA's challenging path toward becoming the therapeutic substance it is today.
Opening night begins at 7:30 PM PDT with an evening of psychedelic art, music, and the formal debut of the installation.
Following the launch, the exhibition will remain on view during all Alembic open hours, with an additional public program scheduled for May 17.
The Alembic is located at 2820 Seventh Street, Berkeley, CA.
This project was supported financially by the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) and its Psychedelics in Society and Culture initiative, funded by Flourish Trust.
About the Grant
This exhibit was made possible by a 2025 grant from the Psychedelics in Society and Culture Fellowship Program at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, awarded to the Shulgin Foundation to curate an exhibit on the pharmacological, therapeutic, and cultural histories of MDMA using materials from the Shulgin Archives.
It is also the first step toward full integration of the archives into the UC Berkeley library system, fulfilling Ann and Sasha's vision of preserving these materials where they can be properly maintained and accessed by future researchers. We hope the exhibit will eventually travel beyond Berkeley, creating gathering places for our community and bringing this history to a global audience. The project preserves vital history that is too often lost to the underground, securing these materials' rightful place in documented psychedelic history for the next generation.
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