Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure© was a celebration of the life and legacy of the ground breaking artist. It demonstrated how his work’s themes and core issues such as social, political and racial injustice still resonate with today’s audiences.

The exhibition was from the perspective of Jean-Michel’s sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux and his stepmother Nora Fitzpatrick. It offered a unique and intimate glimpse into his life as an artist, an older brother and a stepson.

FRAY Studio collaborated with the family and Ileen Gallagher to create a number of audio and video moments throughout the exhibition.

These included, turning original sketches into playfully-tumbling, projection-mapped sequences. Delicately handling the family’s personal photos and film collections, and recreating the CRT monitor wall from the Palladium Night Club to immerse visitors into this NYC institution.

Another key aspect was a series of interviews with close friends and family of Jean-Michel himself. The interviews were produced and directed by Jean-Michele’s niece Sophia Loren Heriveaux, and FRAY Studio turned 14 hours of raw interview footage into bitesize stories helping to paint Jean-Michele as a complete person and showcase his infectious personality.

Throughout the exhibition a series of soundtracks, chosen by Jean-Michel’s sisters, accompanied visitors throughout their journey. Along with original compositions created to perfectly match the emotional tone of stories we were telling.

Learn more about the process of creating this exhibition here.