The Museum of Arts and Design is celebrating 65 years of Barbie history
Last year, the Barbie movie brought about a sort of Barbie-ssance across the world: Everywhere you looked, it seemed that people were talking about the iconic franchise and its accompanying movie, which carried a poignant message about womanhood.
If you’d like to relive even just a fraction of the 2023 Barbie craze, the Museum of Art and Design near Columbus Circle will give you the chance to bask in Barbie’s full plastic glory once again thanks to its upcoming exhibit, Barbie: A Cultural Icon.
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The exhibit, which opens on Saturday, October 19 and will continue through March 16, 2025, celebrates the 65-year history of the Barbie franchise and examines its global impact since it was founded on March 9, 1959. To kick off the exhibit, it’ll be “Barbie Day” on October 19. The Museum’s home on Columbus Circle will be temporarily co-named Barbie Circle for the day.
The exhibit will include 250 vintage dolls as well as life-size fashion designs, ads, and vintage interviews with the doll’s designers, per the museum’s website, so you can really understand the dolls’ psyche.
The exhibit starts, naturally, with Barbie’s origin story, as well as the original 22 ensemble outfits that were sold alongside her. Because Barbie was a huge staple of American culture for so long, you can tell a lot about what was happening in our collective consciousness just by looking at what Barbies were wearing and what they looked like at the time of their release.
The exhibit’s examination of history also considers the impact of the Space Age and even the Civil Rights Movement, which would eventually lead to the creation of the first Black and non-white Barbies in the 2000s. You’ll also be able to see how American fashion evolved through the years, from disco to beachwear and eventually, to the inclusion of different body types.
In true Barbie fashion, there’s also going to be plenty of room for fun,including a life size Barbie pink convertible that visitors can hop on and other iconic life-size photo opportunities.
The exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design was curated by Karan Feder and drawn from the private collections of David Porcello and Mattel. You can gain access to the Barbie exhibit by buying general admission tickets to the museum, which are free for kids and go up to $20, depending on the date. The museum is open everyday except Mondays from 10am until 6pm. You can plan your visit here.