By Jonah Grinkewitz
Step into a life-size Barbie Dreamhouse, peruse a wall of Kens and chart Barbie’s history as a design icon from her debut in 1959 to the present in a new immersive exhibition at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University.
Out of the Box: A Barbie Doll Retrospective, open now through July 31, explores the people and processes behind Barbie and her wardrobe through contributions from leading Barbie enthusiasts, Hampton Roads residents, local shop Toymeister and the Museum’s collection.
The Museum collaborated with Barbie doll expert Bradley Justice Yarbrough to curate the exhibition. The show was partially inspired by the 2023 blockbuster film Barbie but is being held now to coincide with the United Federation of Doll Clubs’ 76th Annual Convention happening July 22-26 in Norfolk.
Out of the Box pairs with Carved Couture: 18th-Century British Wooden Fashion Dolls which opened Jan. 28 and gives viewers a look into the types of fashion dolls that preceded Barbie.
“Barbie did not just emerge in a vacuum,” said Sara Woodbury, Ph.D., Curator of Art for the Barry Art Museum.
The exhibition includes examples of Madame Alexander Dolls, including “Cissy,” who was unveiled in 1955 four years before Barbie and was designed to represent a modern adolescent debutante.
Focusing on this historical context, the exhibition explores how the Barbie doll continued that tradition and expanded on it with larger scale production enabled by new, affordable materials such as plastic allowing her to reach a bigger audience.
The exhibition also sheds light on major contributors to Barbie’s image over the decades, including Charlotte Johnson, who created the doll’s earliest wardrobes, and Kitty Black Perkins, who in addition to creating hundreds of outfits and accessories during her career with Mattel, designed and debuted the first Black Barbie doll in 1980.
Adding to the visual aesthetic of the exhibition, the Museum enlisted ODU students and faculty to build a gateway based on the 1979 Barbie Dreamhouse and a beach scene (referencing the recent film) dedicated to Ken.
“While this show is meant to be fun, we’re also showing visitors some of the work that goes into designing a Barbie doll,” said Woodbury. “We’re especially interested in engaging ODU students — particularly those working in design — to show both the engineering and artistry that goes into creating something like this.”
The Dreamhouses are not the only life-size thing in this exhibition. Beth Vinson, a local woman who used to model Barbie wardrobes for Mattel in the 80s, loaned the Museum several outfits for the exhibition.
In the run-up to the exhibition, the Barry Art Museum put out a call for Barbie dolls to the community. Some of those submissions – including an entire section dedicated to submissions from ODU faculty and students called “Barbie on Campus” – were chosen for the exhibition.
You can check out the exhibition for free during the Barry Art Museum’s hours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends.