Club 57 opened in 1979 in the basement of the Holy Cross Polish National Church on St. Marks Place. This East Village location became the primary home for avant-garde art and performance in New York City. Ann Magnuson managed the space and created an environment where creativity had no limits. The club stood in stark contrast to the flashy and expensive discos found in other parts of the city. It had a gritty, alternative edge that appealed to young people who wanted to experiment with new ideas.
The interior of the club was small and often crowded with artists and musicians. Membership was very affordable, which allowed regulars to treat the club as their second home. Performers used the small stage for everything from film screenings to experimental music sets. There were no strict rules about what qualified as art at Club 57. This total freedom encouraged people to push boundaries across every possible medium. The energy inside the basement focused on the thrill of creation and the rejection of mainstream culture.
Harvey Wang was twenty-three years old when he began photographing the scene in the late 1970s. He frequented the club regularly and documented the unique personalities that made the space famous. Wang acted as the unofficial photographer, recording the dramatic events that took place every night. His black-and-white images provide a clear record of the people who inhabited this underground world. Wang possessed a strong sense that the activities inside the club were significant. He worked to capture the essence of the performers before their ideas reached a larger audience.
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Theme nights were a staple of life at Club 57. Ann Magnuson organized events such as the “Monster Movie Night” and specialized fashion shows. These gatherings required the audience to be as much a part of the show as the performers on stage. Artists like Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf were constant fixtures in the crowd. They often used the walls of the club to display their latest drawings and paintings. The DIY nature of the club meant that sets and props were often made from found objects and cheap materials.
Socializing at the club led to constant artistic collaborations between different groups. People met at the bar to discuss punk music, performance art, and new film techniques. The community was tight-knit and supported anyone who wanted to try something different. Because the space was in a church basement, it retained a sense of being a secret society. It was a place where being different was encouraged and celebrated every night of the week. Life at Club 57 was defined by this shared commitment to making art for the sake of the craft rather than for money.
