The Punk Rock Museum is proud to announce a new exhibition celebrating The Cramps, opening Friday, October 23rd, 2026, in Las Vegas.
This exhibition, titled ‘Children of the Night: The Visual World of The Cramps’, coincides with the release of Andrew Krivine’s third illustrated book dedicated exclusively to this unique, authentic and powerfully charismatic group. SDSU Press is the publisher of ‘Children of the Night: The Visual World of The Cramps’, which will be available later this month.
‘Children of the Night’ chronicles the evolving graphical identity of the Cramps across the entire arc of their career. And we reckon that visitors will leave the exhibition convinced that the Cramps are the most visually captivating American band of the late 20th Century!
This collaborative exhibition highlights materials from Harris Legome’s extensive Cramps archive and Andrew’s personal collection, featuring posters, flyers, badges, fanzines and other ephemera documenting the band’s 33-year career.
The exhibition will feature a special collection of photographs by acclaimed photographer David Arnoff. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Arnoff later lived in Los Angeles throughout the 1960s and ’70s, where he began working as a freelance photographer, documenting the bands and artists he felt an affinity for.
The Cramps photographs featured in the exhibition were taken around the time of Arnoff’s session with the band for their groundbreaking debut album, Songs the Lord Taught Us. The 1980 release also marked Arnoff’s first album cover. The 11 prints on display will be available for purchase.
Arnoff’s photography has appeared in countless publications and has been exhibited internationally in London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Berlin. He has photographed numerous notable album covers over the years, but The Cramps remain his favorite.
His first photography book, ‘Shot in the Dark’, has been published in the U.S., U.K. and Spain. A limited number of these books will be available in the museum’s gift store. His new book devoted entirely to The Cramps is scheduled for publication in 2027.
The exhibition will also feature two photos Lux Interior took, generously loaned by the band’s longtime manager, Larry Hardy. The Punk Rock Museum gift shop will carry exclusive Cramps merchandise from Easy Partners, alongside Cramps vinyl at the museum’s record store, Vinyl Threat.
Special programming includes a screening of ‘Live at Napa State Mental Hospital’ on Saturday, October 24th at 7 pm, followed by a talk with Joe Rees of Target Video, who filmed The Cramps and The Mutants’ infamous June 13th, 1978, performance at Napa State Hospital. Shot with a portable Sony black-and-white camera, the chaotic show became a cult classic as patients rushed the stage and joined the performance.
On November 21st and 22nd, Kid Congo Powers will be giving guided tours and doing a reading and signing of his memoir, ‘Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir’, as well as a DJ set at the museum’s bar on Friday, November 21st.
The Cramps’ legacy is profound and continues to inspire generations of Punk, Goth and Psychobilly fans around the world!