Box of Moonlight is created and run by Andrew Hoepfner, the artist who made the beloved Brooklyn arts venue, Gymnopedie.
For seven years, Gymnopedie churned wild creativity, peak experiences, and community magic underneath Bushwick United Methodist Church.
The space was originally restored and designed to house Hoepfner’s immersive theater experience, Bottom Of The Ocean, but it turned out that artists far and wide also loved making work in that basement.
Gymnopedie hosted tens of thousands of creators of numerous languages, ethnicities, identities, and artistic mediums from all across the globe.
In the gritty gymnasium, in the crumbling classroom, in front of the glowing TV wall, in the black shower stalls, it happened.
From African music award shows to K-pop dance videos, the venue was sublimely versatile.
Burgeoning fashion icon Theophilio staged his early shows there. Redman shot his mighty 80 BARZ video.
Sarah Michelle Gellar shot a Halloween Maybelline campaign. Gaia Music Collective went viral multiple times with heartfelt choir sings.
Sheesh Neishh uplifted the neighborhood with her legendary twerk classes. Countless student film shoots, underground fashion shows, screenings, nerf battles, dinner galas, a marriage proposal, and even a wedding happened in our hidden place.
The basement of an active church was never the perfect fit for Gymnopedie’s adventurous artists. We were eventually spat back out onto Bushwick Avenue.
The good news is, Gymnopedie lives on now at Box of Moonlight. The mannequins are here, ready to drape. The TVs are here, ready to stack.
More importantly, the weird, beautiful, untamable spirit of Gymnopedie lives on in our warehouse. If you loved Gymnopedie, take heart that it didn’t really go away. Gymnopedie is here at Box of Moonlight.
