Library of Congress Disco Symposium

Press contact:  Bryonna Head, Office of Communications (202) 707-3073, bhea@loc.gov
Public contact: Concert Line (202) 707-5502
Website: Registration for downloadable images in online press kit
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov.   

Library to Host Series of Disco Events

Line-up includes Gloria Gaynor, Tim Gunn

The Library of Congress is presenting a series of disco-themed events to celebrate and memorialize the era of the mid-1970s and early 1980s that changed American art, fashion, language and sound. “Bibliodiscotheque” will include two months of programs such as film screenings, lectures and a symposium followed by a disco party featuring Gloria Gaynor.

“The disco era has left a lasting mark on our culture,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “The music, the clothes, those fantastic disco balls – they are a part of Americana that new generations are still discovering and embracing. I am so thrilled to announce these events and the incredible line-up of guests we will have at the Library in the coming months as we celebrate the era of disco and share related items from the Library’s collections.”

Nearly 40 years have passed since the heyday of platform shoes and dazzling disco balls, but disco is recognized as a phenomenon that redefined cultural norms across the United States. “Lest anyone think that disco was an aberrant moment in the ’70’s. Disco culture is inextricable from the history of 20th century fashion,” said Emmy award-winning fashion icon, Tim Gunn. “Its representation in the Library of Congress not only legitimizes the genre, but fully validates it.”

 The Library of Congress holds significant collection materials in various formats that showcase the American disco experience. These items will be on display for the duration of this series. Programming includes screenings of disco-influenced films as well as lectures and panel discussions presented by cultural experts, such as author, producer and fashion icon Tim Gunn, who will present a lecture on the influence of disco fashion followed by a book signing.  The series will conclude with a symposium featuring the disco singing sensation Gloria Gaynor, followed by an evening extravaganza with a live performance.

Gaynor will discuss and sign her new book, “We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song.” The book’s title harkens back to her 1978 classic “I Will Survive” which was selected for preservation in 2016 for the National Recording Registry. In “We Will Survive,” Gaynor shares 40 inspirational, true stories about survivors of all kinds — individuals who have found comfort, hope, and courage through the power of that song.

“I am thrilled that the Library of Congress has found my role in American music worthy to be commemorated by the inclusion of my recording of “I Will Survive” in the National Recording Registry,” said Gaynor. “I look forward with great anticipation to my concert at the Library of Congress “Bibliodiscotheque.”

Events are free and open to the public. Free tickets are required for admission to all activities. Tickets will be available beginning at 10:00 a.m. on March 30at this website. A limited number of press credentials will also be available for reservation. The deadline to reserve credentials for lectures, the symposium, and the dance party is Friday, April 28. Some of the events will be live-streamed on the Library’s Facebook page at facebook.com/libraryofcongress and its YouTube channel at youtube.com/LibraryOfCongress. All programs will take place at the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., or at its James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., both in Washington, D.C.

The excitement can be followed on Twitter at @librarycongress and #LCDisco.

The Library’s programming will include: 

Symposium*

Saturday, May 6
1 p.m. (Coolidge Auditorium)
Library of Congress “Bibliodiscotheque” Symposium
Explore the history of disco music, dance and culture in this afternoon symposium that features appearances by Gloria Gaynor, Good Morning America host Robin Roberts, distinguished music scholars Martin Scherzinger and Alice Echols, photographer Bill Bernstein, and Yolanda Baker, the only disco ball maker in the United States. A book-signing will follow.

Presented in association with the Library of Congress Music and Prints & Photographs Divisions, and Veterans History Project, with additional support from The Recording Academy.

1 p.m. “The Craft of Making Disco Balls”
Yolanda Baker, Disco Ball Maker, Omega National Products
Toni Lehring, Omega National Products

1:30 p.m. “Two Perspectives on Beyoncé’s African Dance References”
Martin Scherzinger, Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University

2 p.m. “Disco: The Bill Bernstein Photographs”
Bill Bernstein, Photographer

2:30 p.m. “Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture”
Alice Echols, Barbra Streisand Professor of Contemporary Gender Studies and Professor of History and Gender Studies, University of Southern California

3 p.m. Panel Discussion
Bill Bernstein, Alice Echols, Martin Scherzinger

4 p.m. “Gloria Gaynor on “I Will Survive”
Gloria Gaynor, Vocalist
Robin Roberts, Good Morning America, Interviewer
Keynote interview with Gloria Gaynor, member of The Recording Academy New York Chapter Board of Governors and author of “We Will Survive,” a book of 40 individual “true stories of encouragement, inspiration, and the power of song.”

5 p.m. (Whittall Pavilion)
Book-Signing: Gloria Gaynor, Robin Roberts, Bill Bernstein and Alice Echols
Books will be available for purchase at the Library of Congress Gift Shop (Ground Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building) beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 6.

Free, tickets available, visit www.loc.gov/concerts/disco for more information.
*This event will be live streamed.