LB— So there are two things you're asking; one is specifically about King Pleasure, and you know we're figuring that part out. Right now, we're blown away by the reception to King Pleasure and the hundreds of thousands of people who have come. Nine out of 10 pieces of feedback are very positive. So that feels good. So we're processing that and figuring out what to do next. Then the second part of your question; I think that many communities exist today, and it's a matter of tapping into those and then maybe helping communities embrace each other. One thing I love about what we're doing is there is a group of more traditional artists, but then there's also a group of filmmakers and even a chef that is a part of the community. We're finding ways to bring existing communities together so that they can be very focused on what they're focused on and expand and meet other creatives expressing themselves in other art forms. There's also something to be said for paying attention to the importance of community and valuing generational legacy, which we can help facilitate through our work. However, we're not experts at that. We can do it and hope that people will take that and apply it to wherever it is that it resonates with their own lives and experiences, so we're doing all we can, and we're also hoping that others will take a look.
JH— When someone passes away, sometimes we get caught up with the money aspect of it, but it's about legacy and how we hold on to it. How do we honor each other and celebrate our ancestors and our families. So that's really the question that part of this project was looking to answer.
EO— There are so many possibilities of where you guys can take this community model, and I wanted to know if you were thinking about starting a larger foundation. Jean-Michel's legacy is so large in terms of the number of people worldwide who know his work. It's not only people who view themselves as part of the art world that know his work. I'm sure you can go into the favelas of Brazil or communities like it around the world and ask people about Basquiat, and they are aware of his work. In fact there are probably local artists in those places appropriating and using elements of his work or inspiration from his work in their own work. So I feel that the cultural experience of Basquiat is almost like this common thread that all these people can connect to each other with, even though they come from different backgrounds. So that was the impetus of that question.
LB— Honestly, I don't know if we're ready just now for a foundation. We have discussed it, but we like to be very intentional with our plans. In this project, we're dealing with the day-to-day. So as you know, this took two years to come together, but the plan for King Pleasure has been in place for about five years. So if we do a foundation, we want to ensure it's done right. We want to make sure that we have the right team in place. So it's not answering your question, but it is an acknowledgment that it's something that we're considering.
EO— Thank you so much for that. I appreciate that answer. I want to change gears towards the King Pleasure exhibition. I'm curious why you guys decided to go the independent route for this exhibition rather than partnering with the many institutions that would have jumped at the chance to let you curate this exhibition for them. I want to preface by saying that I think the independent approach is brilliant and when I first understood that was what was happening, I started thinking, why don't more artists do this? Not every artist can showcase without the cosign of a museum or a gallery, but for the ones that can, it presents opportunities for them to have more ownership of how they display and sell their work. I wanted to know why it was essential for you as an estate to take complete ownership of this exhibition in New York City.
JH— First and foremost as Basquiats, we have never done things from the traditional route. My dad came to this country at 20 years old because Haiti was just not what he saw himself long term. So as a pioneer, he left home and moved here. He met our mother and wanted to create a family. Jean-Michel, when he was 17, decided that the traditional way of going to college and wearing a suit and tie was not the way that he wanted to arrive. So he was a pioneer and went off to find his dream. In the present, we wanted to ensure that the narrative was ours and that it wasn't in any way compromised by what a curator or museum wanted to add. We wanted to make sure it was completely our vision and our story. So the pioneers that we are, we said we've never done this before, but this is how we want to do it. That's why it took five years. We had to ensure we could do it from all aspects, and we're so happy. It was a lot, but we're glad this is our route.
EO— I heard that the show was designed by Sir David Adjaye, which is fantastic because I'm a huge fan of his. I also heard that the design is mobile and can be transported to other locations. What was it like bringing this exhibition into reality, working with your team, and also, what was it like working with Sir David Adjaye to do this?