An immersive exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris celebrates a counter-cultural movement as a safe space for queer expression.
Installation view of “Disco: I'm Coming Out.” Photography by Joachim Bertrand. Image courtesy of Philharmonie de Paris.
Recordings of popular disco songs are animating the Philharmonie de Paris for its new exhibition, “Disco: I’m Coming Out.” Created by DJ Dimitri from Paris, themed playlists transport guests to the past—back to the hot, sweaty nights on New York’s storied Paradise Garage’s dance floor, where the likes of Chaka Khan and Madonna would perform.
Curated by Jean-Yves Leloup, the exhibition uses a selection of artwork and objects—clothing imprinted with the face of influential drag queen Divine, venue relics from the past, and sequined menswear—to underscore how the disco scene was a safe space for queer self-expression. The genre of music was born from a fusion of soul, funk, and salsa in New York City and Philadelphia clubs amidst the political upheaval of the late ‘60s and the newfound freedoms of the ‘70s before rapidly catching on in Europe. Along with ballroom houses, disco night clubs were rare, underground havens that provided queer people of color with an escape from the outside world’s constant policing and harassment.
Installation view of “Disco: I'm Coming Out.” Photography by Joachim Bertrand. Image courtesy of Philharmonie de Paris.
Today, the Philharmonie de Paris’ concert hall’s large, open space is decorated with neon lights and projections of famous disco performances from that famed era, with a massive tri-colored, soundwave-printed carpet that mimics both a catwalk and a dance floor. The exhibition’s layout was designed by Gaëlle Gabillet and Stéphane Villard of Studio GGSV, who debuted a discotheque-inspired collection with the Italian furniture brand Gufram in 2018, also on view in the exhibition.
At the heart of the exhibition is the art, sourced from the Andy Warhol Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and archives from New York City’s the Saint and the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. In Andy Warhol’s Silk Electric, 1982, iconic singer Diana Ross’ face fills the frame as she poses against a bright pink backdrop, showing off a red lip and thinly arched eyebrows and looking directly at the viewer. Elsewhere a vintage Hoover vacuums up a disco ball, like an exhausted party-goer who hangs lazily about after a night of drinking and dancing, titled Le Galeriste, 2022, designed by the Netherlands-based art collective, Rotganzen.
Installation view of “Disco: I'm Coming Out.” Photography by Joachim Bertrand. Image courtesy of the artist and Philharmonie de Paris.
Throughout the exhibition, the genre’s cultural and political impact is underscored by manifestos written by Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ individuals involved in the music and club scene, as well as exclusive archives, photographs from the likes of Peter Hujar and Meryl Meisler, and documentaries. Speakers, turntables, mixing desks, and tape recorders are also on display as well as a collection of vintage light-projectors, and costumes.
A three-part series from February 21 to 23 will take place at the concert hall in celebration of the new exhibition. It looks like a disco revival may be on the horizon, so dust off your shiniest sequins we’re going dancing!
“Disco I’m Coming Out” is on view until August 17, 2025 at Philharmonie de Paris at 221 Av. Jean Jaurès, Paris, France, 75019.
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