Business Spotlight
It’s a Barbie’s World in Lincoln Square
Oct 22, 2024This Saturday, Lincoln Square’s Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle) unveiled its highly anticipated Barbie: A Cultural Icon exhibit. The exhibit, an innovative collaboration between MAD, Illusion Projects, and Mattel, Inc., will be open through March 16, 2025.
Greta Gerwig’s Summer 2023 Blockbuster “Barbie” catapulted the doll to the forefront of Gen-Z popular culture, but Barbie has been a foundational figure in the collective experience of young people since 1959 when the doll was first released. MAD’s Barbie: A Cultural Icon exhibit explores the history of the Barbie doll and showcases the global impact Barbie has had on fashion and popular culture over the past 65 years.
The exhibit pays homage to the myriad identities, trends, and careers Barbie has adopted and popularized, with areas highlighting the influence of the Space Age, disco culture of the 1970s, and more. Barbie: A Cultural Icon also spotlights the ongoing diversification of characters within the Barbie universe; sections on the 1980s and 1990s present a selection of diverse Barbie dolls representing a range of ethnicities, body types, and careers, including a feature on the first Black Barbie, and the exhibit culminates in the 2000s examining the ways in which Barbie has evolved to encompass contemporary perspectives and identities. The exhibit also offers unique photo opportunities as well as the chance to interact with the life-size Barbie Ultra 'Vette™. If you’re feeling inspired after your visit to the MAD exhibit, you can meander over to Target (1863 Broadway between 61st and 62nd Street) and pick out a Barbie of your own!
Barbie: A Cultural icon joins several highly successful, innovative exhibits at MAD, including OUT of the Jewelry Box, which considers the importance of queer perspectives in the world of studio and contemporary art jewelry, and Craft Front & Center: Conversation Pieces, a visual conversation between innovative craft artists from the twentieth century and modern artists.
In addition to its world-class exhibits, the Museum of Arts and Design houses a variety of art installations and hosts a series of film screenings, workshops, and community events. You can find these events and more on MAD’s website.
The Museum of Arts and Design is open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00am – 6:00pm. Museum admission is $20 for the general public, $16 for seniors, $14 for students, and free for members and those 12 and Under. We’ll see you there!
Photo Credit: Museum of Arts and Design