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If the popularity of certain podcasts and documentaries is any indication, Americans are fascinated by learning about cults. A new exhibit at the Museum of Sex New York seizes on that topic with its exploration of nonconforming, experimental lifestyles and the marks they've left on our society.
From now until April 12, 2026, experience history and culture through the lens of American cults and communes at "Utopia: Three Centuries of Sexuality in American Cults and Communes." The two-story show features more than 300 artworks, photographs, films, records, garments and rare artifacts from 20 historical intentional communities.
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Curated by Jodi Willie—known for critically acclaimed films, documentaries and award-winning books—this groundbreaking exhibition traces how alternative spiritual communities across the United States have influenced and reimagined intimacy, gender and sexuality over the past several hundred years.
Both scholarly and immersive, the collection shows how mainstream norms were challenged by the art, sexuality and rituals formed in these communities. In doing so, they offered Americans alternative models of intimacy and belonging to identify with.
"Utopia" reframes the history of American spiritual subcultures through the lens of desire, intimacy and creative reinvention among the following communities, including: Shakers, Oneida Community, The Source Family, Church of All Worlds, Cockettes, Kerista Commune, Rajneesh/Osho, Dean and Dudley Evenson, Unarius Academy of Science, House of David, Father Divine and The Farm.
"These communities were laboratories for rethinking nearly every aspect of life, including sexuality, spirituality, gender, family and art," Willie said in a statement. "Through their archives and creative expression, we witness their paths toward meaning and their attempts to reimagine new ways of living and loving in America."
The exhibition also coincides with a lineup of programming across the city, including an occult humanities conference at New York University on October 19, where Willie will present an audiovisual talk, sharing rarely seen photos and anecdotes not displayed in the exhibit. On October 22, The Roxy Theater is joining with Museum of Sex to screen Willie's documentary "The Source Family" with a Q&A to follow.
Visit the exhibition at Museum of Sex (233 5th Ave, New York), with tickets starting at $29.