More than two years in the making, The Studio, located at 331 Commercial Street in the heart of P-town, was birthed from the 2016 launch of what HBO called the Queer Culture Project, whereby a survey of 100 L.G.B.T.Q.+ influencers revealed the need for “distinctly queer spaces” where they could meet to exchange ideas and facilitate meaningful dialogues.
To oversee all logistics from conception to buildout to furnishings, HBO enlisted Brooklyn-based creative agency the Gathery, helmed by co-founders Nicky Balestrieri and Luigi Tadini. A total of about a dozen or so staffers between the Gathery, HBO, and L.A.-based PR Dept. will remain on site in P-town throughout the summer.
The one-level, 1,026-square-foot, highly configurable modular space will play host to the bulk of the 93 events planned. As the duo’s second activation with HBO—the first was the 2017 creation of the Queer|Art Prize in New York—the Gathery was tasked to create a space that had impact but that remained neutral enough so as not to distract from an assortment of programming: screenings, ice cream socials, “Meditation & Mimosas” yoga classes, drag queen trivia happy hours, art exhibits curated by New York-based non-profit Queer|Art, story time sessions (during Family Week) and appearances by stars from such hit HBO shows as Westworld, Big Little Lies, and Sesame Street.
To allow content to reach people outside P-town, all talks, including those with The Studio’s seven queer media partners—Out, The Advocate, Gayletter, The Tenth, Them, Hello Mr., and INTO (all of which have taken turns guest editing a collectible ’zine)—are being captured via video to live on the dedicated website, as is the weekly ’zine each aforementioned publication will produce. A sizzle reel of all the past week’s events will also be produced. Additionally, some of HBO’s partners are recording their own podcasts and will share them via their unique outlets.
On paper, P-town, as a gay mecca located at the tip of Cape Cod and the number one queer destination in America, made sense from a location standpoint. From a legacy as a writer and artist colony, where artists like Norman Mailer, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Michael Cunningham often visited to write, P-town—which swells to more than 70,000 visitors between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends—offers a mix of diversity and intimacy unlike any other L.G.B.T.Q.+ vacation destination.
At the core of the initiative was an effort to celebrate the local community and the people within it—be it the local contractors who helped with the restoration and renovation efforts to Patio Restaurant which will be providing catering for every event this summer to swag sourced from local mom-and-pop shops.
Depending on the layout, The Studio will house everything from yoga for groups of 16 to larger events like dinners, cocktails, and art exhibits for some 40 people each. In total, from food vendors (seven ice cream flavors have been created by Big Gay Ice Cream inspired by HBO shows) to media sponsors, a total of 31 partners are involved. They also include four product collaborations, six Queer|Art artist exhibits, 11 screenings at Waters Edge Cinema, and two large-scale events that will take place off-site at Pilgrim Monument: a kick-off concert for 500 guests on July 3 featuring three queer artists and, on the sixth week, an outdoor screening for Sharp Objects for 200 people.
Celebrate with the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community this summer and devour the details of HBO's The Studio!
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