After its excursion to the planet of metal, the Philharmonie is exploring another musical trend! Since early February, the venue has been celebrating disco and its many facets with an exhibition! History, political and societal dimensions, iconic figures, musical inspirations and aesthetics, it’s Disco, i’m coming out!
The Philharmonie de Paris in disco time
What’s left of disco once the skin-tight sequined outfits have been consigned to the attic? This February, the Philharmonie’s Disco i’m coming out exhibition shatters the iconic mirror ball that clings to the genre’s skin to examine its many facets!
Originating in the USA in the early 70s, disco is a musical movement born of the blending of several popular styles within the black American community. With its funk, soul and gospel sounds, disco was a great purveyor of dancefloor anthems. Internationally, it’s the Village People, Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer and Chic who get the disco balls spinning, while in France Patrick Juvet, Cerrone and Patrick Hernandez embody Saturday night fever!
An exhibition exploring the origins of the disco movement
With this exhibition dedicated to disco in its entirety, the Philharmonie breaks away from reductive images of the movement and invites the public to go back to its origins to discover its many faces.
Is disco party music? Certainly, but it also carries with it its share of social and political demands linked to the American context of the late 60s. Struggles for civil rights, the defense of homosexuals and the affirmation of women’s rights are just some of the themes discussed!
Disco, i’m coming out looks at how the movement took shape and became codified, with the emergence of discotheques, DJs and the birth of a dance culture.
The aesthetic dimension, deeply rooted in the collective imagination, will have a prominent place in the exhibition. Archival photos, flamboyant outfits from the 70s, advertisements and TV shows all bear witness to the disco wave that swept the world in 1977, with the release of Saturday Night Fever (starring John Travolta), the emblematic film of the disco generation!
So, are you ready to relive the crazy disco epic?
đź“Ť Address: Philharmonie de Paris
221 avenue Jean-Jaurès, 75019 Paris
📆 Date: February 14 to August 17, 2025
🎟️ Admission: full price €15 / reduced price €9/11
More on the Disco exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris