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Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
Photographer Dustin Pittman captured a New Year's Eve party at the nightclub in this image titled "Stroke of Midnight at Studio 54, 1978–79"

Brooklyn Museum to stage Studio 54 exhibit exploring club's "groundbreaking aesthetics"

Brooklyn Museum has revealed its plans to stage a major showcase focused on the history and influence of legendary New York nightclub Studio 54 next year.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
Photography exhibited includes this image of Pat Cleveland on the dance floor during Halston's disco bash at Studio 54 captured by Guy Marineau in 1977

Studio 54: Night Magic will open at the art museum next Spring, comprising hundreds of objects, never released photographs, drawings, films and set pieces from the historic New York club.

Hoteliers Ian Schrager and the late Steve Rubell created Studio 54 inside an old opera house in Manhattan in 1977, turning the old stage into the dance floor.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
Red Balloons, a photo taken by Dustin Pittman in 1979, is also is among the collection's showcase of the club's extravagant fashions

The club's extravagant parties became internationally renowned for their creative set design, lighting, and famous guest lists that included artists, actors and writers such as Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Elizabeth Taylor and Yves St. Laurent . It closed in 1980 but has remained an "icon" of disco since.

"Studio 54 has come to represent the visual height of disco-era America: glamorous people in glamorous fashions, surrounded by gleaming lights and glitter, dancing 'The Hustle' in an opera house," said exhibition curator Matthew Yokobosky.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc contributed these tickets, designed by Andy Warhol for Studio 54, that use acrylic and silkscreen on linen, to the exhibit

"At a time of economic crisis, Studio 54 helped New York City to rebrand its image, and set the new gold standard for a dynamic night out," he added. "Today the nightclub continues to be a model for social revolution, gender fluidity, and sexual freedom."

Yokobosky has arranged the exhibition chronologically with showcases of original blueprints, sketches and models of the venue.

Fifty costume designs, created by Antonio Lopez, devised for Studio 54's opening night will be displayed alongside unrealised set designs created by Tony Walton and Mark Ravitz. Brooklyn Museum will also use the club's original lighting and feature audio of chart topping songs of the era to recreate its visual and auditory experience.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
The Estate of Richard Bernstein has given the museum this drawing that Richard Bernstein created of club owner Steve Rubell in 1979

Images of Studio 54's extravagant themed parties and the over the top fashion that attended them will also be on display in addition to promotional content used to advertise the club.

Studio 54 was featured in an exhibition in Germany's Vitra Museum called Night Fever, alongside other prominent night clubs such as Hacienda and Tresor, however this exhibit will be the first showcase solely focused on the club.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
Also on display will be this Chinese-inspired sketch dedicated to founder "Steve" by Yves Saint Laurent from Foundation Pierre Bergé

"Studio 54: Night Magic is the first exhibition to trace the groundbreaking aesthetics and social politics of the historic nightclub, and its lasting influence on nightclub design, cinema, and fashion," said Brooklyn Museum.

The exhibition opens to the public 13 March 202o and will run up until 5 July 2020.

Studio 54: Night Magic Brooklyn Museum
Also featured will be this advertisement poster donated from the Museum of the City of New York, photographed by Gordon Munro

Anne Pasternak, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum, adds that the staging of the showcase comes at an important time in contemporary culture.

"At this current moment in history, when struggles for liberation often collide with restrictive social norms, we are excited to present Studio 54: Night Magic," said Pasternak.

"The exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on a significant era in our shared history and challenges us to consider the future and the many ways we can create a freer and more just world."