Sub Club and Hacienda honoured in V&A reopening

The V&A Dundee has announced it is to reopen on May 1 with an exhibition on the history of nightclub design.

The museum’s director, Leonie Bell, said that Night Fever: Designing Club Culture, which charts the evolution of nightclubs from the 1960s to today, is the “perfect” exhibition to reopen with.

Key nightclubs featured in the exhibition include: Space Electronic, Florence, 1969; and Studio 54 in New York, 1977; as well as clubs such as The Haçienda, Manchester in 1982; and Sub Club, in Glasgow, from 1987 onwards.

The exhibition will also include a section on Scotland’s distinct club culture, including club nights in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Paisley, exploring how the Scottish scene holds closer ties to the music and influences of Chicago, Detroit and Europe than London clubs.

Leonie Bell said: “Design is fundamental to our lives, it’s a form of creativity that everyone engages with every day. At V&A Dundee we are committed to championing and exploring the many ways that design helps us and brings joy.

“Night Fever: Designing Club Culture is a perfect exhibition to reopen V&A Dundee with. Nightclubs and dancehalls are precious cultural spaces that often play a pivotal role in our lives.

“Night Fever explores the history of nightclub design, looking at how this has changed from Italy in the 1960s right through to everyone’s living rooms today with online streaming of club nights.

“We can’t wait to welcome our visitors back to enjoy the new exhibition, or simply to appreciate the calm sanctuary of Kengo Kuma’s architecture.”

Roaming from Italy to New York, Paris, Manchester, London, Beirut and Berlin, the exhibition charts how nightclub design has changed and developed.

Developed by the Vitra Design Museum and ADAM – Brussels Design Museum, the show, which runs until January 9 2022, includes films, photography, posters, flyers, and fashion, as well as a light and music installation.

Tickets are on sale at www.vam.ac.uk/dundee

All visitors to the museum now need to book free tickets to enter the museum which can also be booked on the museum website.

Night Fever: Designing Club Culture at V&A Dundee is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Laura Chow, Head of Charities from People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “V&A Dundee has had a huge impact on local communities and Scottish cultural life since well before it opened in 2018, and I’m delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery have supported the museum for seven years.

“This UK-exclusive exhibition is hugely exciting as we all look forward to brighter times ahead, and it is the perfect time to explore how important design and culture are to our lives and wellbeing.”