Basquiat × Banksy

Join author and music scholar Adrian Loving for a gallery discussion about the influential music cultures that developed in Brooklyn and Bristol during the 1980s and 1990s. The program considers how hip-hop and trip-hop shaped the environments and artistic development of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy, and accompanies the Hirshhorn’s *Basquiat × Banksy* exhibition.

The exhibition is the first presentation at the Smithsonian’s national museum of modern and contemporary art to feature work by either artist. It includes Basquiat works on paper and wood from the Larry Warsh collection, created between 1979 and 1985, highlighting his engagement with art history, language, skull and crown imagery, and other recurring motifs. The film *Downtown 81*, filmed in 1980–81 and released in 2000, is also on view; it stars Basquiat as a struggling artist known as Jean amid Manhattan’s avant-garde scene.

When: September 4, 2026

Showtimes: 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Program: Gallery experience and discussion led by Adrian Loving, focused on Brooklyn and Bristol music scenes and their relationship to Basquiat’s and Banksy’s artistic upbringings.

Exhibition: *Basquiat × Banksy*, featuring works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy, including Basquiat works from the Larry Warsh collection and Banksy’s *Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search*.

Film on View: *Downtown 81*, filmed in 1980–81 and released in 2000, with Basquiat in the starring role.

Playlist: A Spotify playlist is provided for listening in advance.

Tickets: Price not available

Venue: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue SW and 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20560

Venue Phone: 202-633-1000

Organizer: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Organizer Email: HirshhornExperience@si.edu