Venue Rental
HOST Your EVENT AT KING PLEASURE© LA
This highly acclaimed creative space is like none other and the ideal location to celebrate creativity, culture and art through the lens of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Complete catering packages are available upon request. Our modular layout can easily fit most size groups. In addition to the space itself we also offer complete catering packages upon request.
EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
The exhibition is 18,000 sq ft divided into the five themes & environments. This includes an outdoor courtyard to support parties, music events & educational programs.
CHILDHOOD
An overview of Jean-Michel’s life and his childhood in Brooklyn is presented in the first gallery. A video with never-before seen home movies and interviews with family members introduces the earliest years of his life. Included in this section are photographs, a sculpture he made as a child, ephemera, and works of art that are themed around Brooklyn and growing up. Early influences on his artistic career – jazz, books, and popular culture are incorporated into this gallery.
A transitional moment occurs when Jean-Michel leaves home in 1978 to strike out on his own and begin his public presence as a street artist. He innately understands that to be a successful artist, one must possess business acumen as well as artistic ability and so he forges relationships with artists, dealers, musicians, photographers, etc. who help to set the tone for his explosive career.
GREAT JONES ST. STUDIO
A recreation of Jean-Michel’s Great Jones Street studio includes paintings (some unfinished), drawings, sketches, personal effects, his record collection, multimedia, and books. A faithful replica, the studio is messy and chaotic with artwork everywhere. A consummate consumer of pop culture, a cacophony of music and television plays in the background and it appears as though Jean-Michel has just stepped out.
ART GALLERY
On display in the Gallery are approximately 50-60 paintings and 30 drawings. Interspersed with artwork is source material that Jean-Michel used to create these works and a soundtrack of his personal musical favorites.
NIGHTLIFE
Nightclubs in New York reach a critical mass during the late 1970s and 1980s with the Mudd Club, Area, Hurrah, CBGB, Danceteria and the Palladium on 14th Street. Jean-Michel created two spectacular paintings, Nu-Nile and Untitled for the club’s VIP area, the Michael Todd Room. The exhibition includes a recreation of this space that morphs into a nightclub/event space on the weekends.
This gallery showcases Jean-Michel’s devotion to club scene and his involvement in making music, his appearance in the Blondie video “Rapture,” the creation of the album Beat-Bop with Rammellzee, his interest in hip-hop music and culture, and his relationship with Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Madonna, and other devotees of downtown scene.
LEGACY
Since his passing in 1988, Jean-Michel has continued to be an influential force in popular culture, inspiring generations of artists and musicians around the globe. A Black man of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, his work continues to foster dialogue around the Black experience and society that are as pertinent today as they were during his lifetime.
LOCATION
Located at the cultural epicenter of Los Angeles comprised of the Music Center (including the Walt Disney Concert Hall), The Broad museum, The Colburn School of Music and the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Grand LA is designed to become a 24-7 destination for shopping, dining, entertainment and hospitality, as well as a paradigm-shifting place to live.
Developed by Related Companies and designed by Frank Gehry, The Grand LA includes 164,000 square feet of retail space anchored by chef driven restaurants; a collection of shops; a 305 room Conrad Los Angeles luxury hotel and more than 436 residences including affordable housing. The development also includes a large, vibrant public plaza with a series of landscaped, open terraces.
The Grand Avenue Project is a visionary public-private partnership with the Los Angeles Grand Avenue Authority to revitalize downtown LA's cultural and civic core with a mix of commercial, retail, cultural and residential uses stitched together with great public spaces and world class architecture.
This multi-phased master planned development is re-envisioning and re-developing underutilized government-owned parcels directly adjacent to the Civic Center and key cultural institutions.
RECREATION OF THE PALLADIUM NIGHTCLUB'S VIP MICHAEL TODD ROOM
This gallery is over 1,500 square feet and can accommodate 50 guests seated and up to 80 guests standing. Food and beverage permission will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
THE COURTYARD
All four galleries are located around a spacious courtyard which will function as the main setting for your event. The courtyard's centralized location allows guests to explore each gallery at their own pace throughout the evening. The space can accommodate up to 200 guests.
HOW TO BOOK
Please reach out to confirm availability and reserve your space