The name “Studio 54” always evokes the image of a vintage, glamorously wild party, but unless you visited there in the ’70s and ’80s, you may not know the full story behind the iconic nightclub.
Well now you can learn all about the magic of the era at the new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, “Studio 54: Night Magic,” opening March 13.
Studio 54 emerged after the Vietnam War and in the middle of the Civil Rights, LBGTQ+ and women’s rights movements. New Yorkers were looking for a place to celebrate after years of struggle, and also somewhere that didn’t confine to traditional creative and social mores. Tons of artists, fashion designers, writers, and musicians spent time there, and it’s where the music genres of punk, hip-hop, and disco were invented. “The Hustle” song and dance even started there!
Everyone was one dancing at the nightclubs of NYC at this time; Studio 54 brought together people of so many different backgrounds with no to dance the night away.
According to the museum, the chronologically-organized exhibit uses “photography, fashion, drawing, and film, as well as never-before-exhibited costume illustrations, set proposals, and designs, to place the nightclub within the wider history of New York, from Prohibition through the 1970s.” This also includes blueprints and architecture models of the club’s design and construction, as well as exploring the massive influence of the nightclub on overall culture even after it closed.
The exhibit is curated and designed by Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture, Brooklyn Museum. Find out more on their website here. It will be on display from March 13 through July 5, 2020.
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featured image source: Brooklyn Museum / Copyright Rose Hartman.