The Museum of Modern Art Announces CLUB 57: FILM, PERFORMANCE, AND ART IN THE EAST VILLAGE, 1978-1983

The Museum of Modern Art announces Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983, a major exhibition examining the scene-changing, interdisciplinary life of downtown New York's seminal alternative space, on view from October 31, 2017, through April 1, 2018, in the Roy and Niuta Titus Galleries. The East Village of the 1970s and 1980s continues to thrive in the public's imagination around the world. During the pioneering years of the neighborhood's evolution as a center of social life and creativity, Club 57 was a core institution. This exhibition will explore that legacy in full for the first time. Club 57 is organized by Ron Magliozzi, Curator, and Sophie Cavoulacos, Assistant Curator, Department of Film, with guest curator Ann Magnuson. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

Located in the basement of a Polish Church at 57 St. Marks Place, Club 57 (1978-83) began as a no-budget venue for music and film exhibitions, and quickly took pride of place in a constellation of countercultural venues in downtown New York fueled by low rents, the Reagan presidency, and the desire to experiment with new modes of art, performance, fashion, music, and exhibition. A center of creative activity in the East Village, Club 57 is said to have influenced virtually every club that came in its wake...