Get ready, HBO is setting up in Provincetown this summer with The Studio, an engaging and cultural pop-up installation highlighting the local LGBTQ+ history in Provincetown and serving as an intersection between art, entertainment, and creativity to celebrate all things LGBTQ+.
Offering a full slate of interactive programming from July 2 through August 19, HBO is bringing on media partners in within the community, including yours truly, OUT and The Advocate, to lead experiential events like workshops, podcast recordings, discussions with HBO stars, drag shows, and more each week during the run.
How did The Studio come about? We chatted with HBO's VP of Multicultural Marketing, Jackie Gagne, to fill us in. "Our goal here in the multicultural department is to have a deep understanding of the audiences we serve and understand the moments in our programming that out audiences can relate," she said. "So we commissioned a report called The Queer Culture Project in 2016, which allowed us to examine the issues and the trends to identify who was driving the conversations that were impacting LGBTQ+ culture -- both from within and outside the community."
A scene from HBO's Believer, which will be screened at The Studio.
She went on to explain that the most common and prominent findings from the study was this desire for distinctly queer spaces that allow for people to connect. As such, "the purpose of The Studio is to foster an environment of safe socializing for an exchange of ideas, she said. "We're hoping that it can really help to stimulate thinking on queer issues."
Gagne hopes visitors will walk away with a greater understanding of the diversity within the community and hopes The Studio really will stimulate conversation and provide an opportunity to have fun, while recognizing that HBO aims to drive these conversations and to celebrate the community through their programming. As she told us: "We have a history of being at the frontlines of LGBTQ+ conversations through the stories we tell, so we thought it was appropriate to create this space on the findings, but also do it through our programming."
A scene from HBO's Insecure, which will be screened at The Studio.
OUT will kick off its partnership with The Studio July 2 through July 8, where visitors will be able to enjoy acoustic concerts and experience an exclusive podcast, which looks at some of the leaders in the queer music space. That and so much more from other media partners are coming your way.
To register and learn more information on The Studio, complete with a calendar of the activations, visit studiobyhbo.com.
