Global Black Voices: News from around the World
- New York City unveiled Jean-Michel Basquiat Way signs, honoring his lasting influence on the city’s cultural landscape.
- Family members, including Lisane Basquiat, and city officials attended the unveiling, marking communal recognition of his legacy.
- Basquiat’s final residence at 57 Great Jones Street now features a commemorative plaque and serves as a showroom for Jolie Atelier.
The block of Great Jones Street between Bowery and Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan has been named Jean-Michel Basquiat Way in honour of the late Neo-Expressionist artist. A fixture in the bustling East Village scene who became a global art star, Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at age 27 in the home and studio he rented from his friend Andy Warhol at 57 Great Jones Street from 1983 to 1988.
On Tuesday (21 October), members of the New York city council and members of the artist’s family, including his sister Lisane Basquiat, gathered to unveil the Jean-Michel Basquiat Way street signs that will as a reminder of the artist’s indelible mark on New York culture.
Basquiat’s final home is now adorned with a commemorative plaque and has been rented out by the actress Angelina Jolie as a showroom and curatorial space for her fashion brand Jolie Atelier.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in 1960 in Brooklyn to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents. After running away from home as a teenager and dropping out of alternative high school, he made his name as a graffiti tagger under the pseudonym SAMO, emblazoning Lower Manhattan walls with cryptic, satirical slogans and poetry.
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