Angelina Jolie has been visiting New York pretty consistently in recent months. She’s based herself in Los Angeles for the past seven years, ever since she filed for divorce in 2016 – she ended up buying a mansion which is located pretty close to Brad Pitt’s Los Feliz compound, only Pitt recently sold the compound. So I did wonder why she was making so many trips to New York, hoping that it was possibly about spending time with Jonny Lee Miller. She often brings her kids to NYC, and in late June, she was in the city with Zahara, Pax and Shiloh. So, is she changing her home base? Is she looking for residential real estate? Apparently not – Art News reports that Angelina was looking for commercial space for her new fashion collective, Atelier Jolie. So she decided to rent a very famous address which was once Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work space.

The Manhattan property where Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked will be taken over by actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie. The deal for the property, located at 57 Great Jones Street, was confirmed today by John Roesch and Garrett Kelly, both directors at the real estate agency Meridian Capital Group. Jolie will rent the space for her latest creative venture, Atelier Jolie, under long-term commercial use for eight years.

The interior space features 6,600 square feet of space across three floors. The exterior of the building is adorned in street art, and Jolie will keep it that way as a public tribute to Basquiat, who started his career as one half of the graffiti art duo SAMO.

“[Jolie] wanted to preserve the older art on [the building] and keep that Basquiat feel to the space,” said Roesch.

“She loved the facade of the building and it being tagged up with the street art as a memorial for Basquiat,” Kelly added.

Basquiat rented the second-floor space from Warhol shortly after they first met. Warhol originally bought the building in 1970.

Prior to Warhol’s purchase, the property already had a rich history. Originally constructed in the 1860s, it was purchased by Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli—aka the gangster Paul Kelly—who opened the Brighton Athletic Club there in 1904. The building was subsequently used as a metal works business and kitchen supply company until 1970. Most recently, the property was home to the exclusive Japanese restaurant Bohemian.

Atelier Jolie will serve as a workshop opportunity for under-represented tailors and artisans around the world. Those participating will be able to work and showcase their creations at the 57 Great Jones Street location. Jolie plans to open her new business “as quickly as possible,” according to Roesch. The property was previously on the market with Meridian Capital Group for $60,000 per month for a minimum of 10 years.

[From Art News]

God that’s expensive. I get it, and I get why it’s so expensive, even beyond the physical space of it, but also the pedigree. So, I wondered what Atelier Jolie would actually entail and what kind of business it would be and how it would be set up. We’re getting a better look at all of that – refugee creators will be creating capsule collections and they’ll likely collaborate with existing design houses too. The first collab is with Chloe. Will Atelier Jolie designers actually come into this Basquiat property to work, or will this be more of a show space? Will they show at New York Fashion Week? Time will tell. It’s interesting though. Also: do you think Angelina actually will buy or rent a residential property in New York so she can manage this project close-by?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.