Miu Miu's ‘Tales And Tellers' Exhibition Heads To New York City

Upon entering, everyone's eyes took a moment to adjust inside the barely-lit venue before taking in the expansive scene before them. Guests were immediately met by a cacophony of noise and flashing lights, setting the tone for the experience in front of the first station, a secretary-like desk that played host to the character "Jean."

The exhibition—conceived by multi-disciplinary artist Goshka Macuga and curated by Elvira Dyangani Ose, the director of MACBA Contemporary Art Museum in Barcelona—was originally performed in Paris in October 2024 and is part of the artist's ongoing collaboration with the brand. Macuga previously linked up with Miu Miu for its spring 2025 runway collection, creating a video installation and newspaper, titled "Truthless Times," spotlighting the power of misinformation across mediums.

Purposefully fragmented in format, but meticulously choreographed, each station, whether it was performed by a stand up comic or a manic pixie dream girl in a vibrant fur coat, animated the characters on the screens behind them—hence the concept of a teller and their tales. While we watched an actress lament over not being able to memorize her lines, a downtown It girl whizzed past on her skateboard. As a witch performed her transcendence ritual, her humming was overpowered a singer's hypnotic ballad.

"In Paris, we had 105 performers who worked over the course of five days," says Macuga. In comparison, New York's cast numbered 80, but in a much smaller space with only 48 hours to prepare. Even while Macuga speaks, the choreographer, Fabio Cherstich, diligently tracks the models with his eyes. When forming initial ideas, the duo wanted to evoke the feeling of being chased through the installation. "We started with a very precise conversation about the meaning of what she was doing, the possibilities of what we were doing together, and how to develop it in a space," Cherstich tells ELLE. "As a theater and opera director, I can bring something that is a concept into something that is an expression—an exchange between bodies with a specific energy using the music, the sound, and the light."

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