V&A Dundee reopens with 'poignant' paean to clubland

The new exhibition features a socially-distanced silent disco

With big nights-out currently feeling like a relic, it's maybe fitting that the history of club culture is being celebrated at the newly-reopened V&A Dundee.

Certainly, the irony of being able to visit an exhibition on nightclubs, but not set foot in one itself is not lost.

But as the museum's director Leonie Bell points out, Night Fever was planned pre-Covid and now packs an added emotional punch.

"It is an exhibition that there is a sense of excitement and anticipation around, because it takes people back to pre-Covid life," she said.

New York's legendary Paradise Garage is one of the clubs featured

Ms Bell started her own clubbing days as a teenager in Dundee's Fat Sams and the Rhumba Club in Perth.

She said that while the new show "in no way" replaces the nightclub experience, "it's evocative of them."

"It reminds us of what happens when you bring all sorts of design, people, and music together," she said.

"I think it's really poignant because these places remain closed.

"For us, it's quite a bold announcement I suppose, of nightclubs being incredibly precious cultural spaces of really deep social and cultural significance around the world."

Director Leonie Bell said tickets sales for the exhibition are "really positive"

Night Fever: Designing Club Culture, which runs until January, charts the evolution of nightclubs from the 1960s until the present day.

It includes films, photography, posters, flyers, and fashion, as well as a light and music installation.

Unlike the packed dancefloors celebrated in the exhibition, visitors will need to keep their distance from each other, thanks to strict social distancing rules.

This means that only 350 people can be in the museum at any one time.

Ms Bell said: "That's massively reduced our pre-Covid numbers and obviously that has an impact across all of our income streams, as does the fact events aren't returning, conferences, things like that.

"Thanks to the support of our funders and partners we're in a place where we can sustain ourselves."

Scottish club culture is also explored in the Night Fever exhibition

One of those funders is the Scottish government, which is giving the museum an additional £2m a year for three years, in addition to the £1m it receives annually from the government.

With the museum recording a £1m loss in its first full year of operation, I ask if it's possible to run an institution as large as V&A Dundee without public funding.

Ms Bell said: "Public support is essential to an organisation this size.

"But we also take a lot of responsibility for generating our own income and also raising it through private fundraising.

"We definitely feel confident we can sustain ourselves through these unpredictable years."

The show includes a section of dancefloor from the Hacienda in Manchester

Ms Bell said pre-booking numbers for Night Fever are "looking really positive" and is encouraged that the museum's reopening coincides with travel restrictions around the UK being lifted.

She said: "I think there's a sense of optimism, but careful optimism.

"For us, we're delighted to see people back and it's a safe place to come to."