NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Arts and Design is presenting Taylor Swift: Storyteller, a career-spanning look at the artistic reinventions of the 12-time GRAMMY Awardwinning artist who is one of the most prolific songwriters in history. The exhibition will be on view exclusively at MAD through September 4, 2023.
Taylor Swift: Storyteller highlights include the cheerleader and ballerina ensembles from the award-winning music video for Shake It Off (2014); the red wedding dress and bellhop uniform from I Bet You Think About Me (Taylors Version) (From The Vault), which featured Miles Teller and was directed by Blake Lively (2021); and the sparkling ensemble from Bejeweled (2022), directed by Taylor Swift. Concert attire by couture fashion houses is being featured along with props, jewelry, ephemera, and projections of music videos rounding out the exhibition.
Swifts emotional songwriting is the catalyst for the captivating worlds she brings to life on stage and screen through exquisitely crafted costumes, inventive scene design, and imaginative iconography.
At MAD, fashion and the decorative have long been valued as a critical visual language and no one speaks that language quite like Taylor Swift, said Alexandra Schwartz, the Museums Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design. Whether dressed down in a flannel shirt and untamed hair or literally dazzling her audiences in head-to-toe Swarovski crystals, Taylor gives greater meaning to the palettes, textures, and depths of feeling expressed in her songwriting.
Swift has discussed the pressures that female musicians feel to constantly alter their public images, and regularly addresses gender norms in her videos, performances, and public appearances. In her videos she plays a wide range of characters, transforming herself through costume and subverting female archetypes through storytelling.
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of public programs and fun events inspired by the creativity and passion of Swifts ardent fan basefrom video and film screenings to karaoke sing-alongs. Additionally, The Store at MAD stocks a curated selection of Taylor Swift merchandise, from apparel to accessories.