I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Angelina Jolie's latest venture, Atelier Jolie, but it certainly wasn't what I encountered when I finally visited the space that was legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's last home before his untimely death at 27 in 1988.
When the Maria actress first announced the project back in 2023, it appeared the focus of it would be highlighting emerging designers and their clothing, as she described it as "a place for creative people to collaborate with a skilled and diverse family of expert tailors, pattern makers and artisans from around the world."
With that in mind, I was half-expecting my visit would entail perusing through racks of clothes and feeling a little bad about potentially not trying anything on or purchasing something.
© GettyI'm so glad that wasn't the case, and not because I was a tad lazy to possibly go into a fitting room on the rainy Saturday afternoon that I visited Atelier Jolie.
Atelier Jolie catches your eye from the second you walk up to it on Great Jones Street in NoHo, as its exterior is still adorned with Basquiat's signature crown framing more drawings, posters and graffiti in homage to the late artist.
"Oh it's like a gallery," I thought to myself as I approached the glass doors, and walked into the bright space with glossy white floors.
© HELLO! MagazineThe first thing you see is art — hanging from the ceiling or adorning the walls — and when I went, the exhibit was Strand for Women, a recurring collective exhibition and global art project in support of #WomanLifeFreedom, presented by The Invisible Dog, the Catharsis Arts Foundation, and Atelier Jolie artist-in-residence Prune Nourry, featuring women artists from Afghanistan.
As I continued to walk through the space — among the featured art were personal items from the likes of Hanaheh Kia, a 22-year-old killed by the Islamic Republic's forces in Iran in 2022, and Minoo Majidi, also killed during the same protests — I thought: "Why isn't Angelina promoting this more?"
© HELLO! MagazineShe was; I'd missed a New York Times feature on her promoting the project published just days before, but as I walked into the next room and saw pamphlets scattered among books about Iran that read "How to Survive Fascism: A Practical Guide," and: "Never talk to cops! Never talk to I.C.E. Never talk to the F.B.I." I did wonder if what would often be quickly lauded as good activism be then branded as performative by keyboard warriors once they realized who it came from, a long underestimated actress whose significant, decades-long activism and philanthropy hasn't come without its fair share of disregard.
© HELLO! Magazine"I wanted a place where I could spend time with local artists," she told the New York Times, which quoted her as also telling guests during an intimate conversation with the artist Shirin Neshat at the space that she is, through Atelier Jolie, seeking community to "keep trying to understand ways to help."
"I want to know if you feel the same pain," she noted, as she guided a conversation on topics like the plight of refugees, the rights of women, and how to wrench meaning from exile, per the Times.
My time at Atelier Jolie was a pleasant surprise. The space also features a cafe in the back, which sells different pastries by chefs from all over the world, including coconut barfi by Shanthini from Sri Lanka and besan bafir by Rachana from Nepal. I look forward to my next visit.
