The story behind the Luna Luna amusement park is almost too good to be true. After its celebrated opening in the 1980s, the amusement park featuring works by renowned visual artists all but disappeared until recently.
Luna Luna was the brainchild of Austrian multimedia artist André Heller. Envisioned as the world’s first art amusement park, it brought together the talents of several prominent artists. Each artist was tasked with designing a ride or attraction, resulting in a park that was more an exhibition of interactive art than a traditional amusement park. Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dalí, Keith Haring, and David Hockney contributed to this project, making it a melting pot of contemporary art styles and ideas. The park opened in 1987 in Hamburg, Germany, and was an immediate sensation, drawing crowds and media attention for its unique concept.
Despite its initial success, Luna Luna faced logistical and financial challenges. The costs of maintaining and transporting the artworks, coupled with the logistical complexities of operating a traveling amusement park, led to operational difficulties. As a result, after its initial run, Luna Luna was dismantled, and the art pieces were stored away, falling into a state of dormancy. For years, the park existed only in the memories of those who visited and in the annals of art history.
It’s now been revived for an exhibition in Los Angeles, backed by hip-hop artist Drake and his firm, DreamCrew. The exhibition, titled “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy,” aims to reclaim amusement parks as art-driven spaces and reflects the merger of art, commerce, and entertainment. The exhibition features the original, whimsical rides and artworks, celebrating the park’s unique artistic and communal spirit. Unfortunately, one cannot actually ride on the works, unlike at the original presentation in Hamburg. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty amazing exhibition to see!
For more on the return of Luna Luna, read the NY Times article “How Drake’s $100 Million Bet Saved the Long-Lost Art Carnival Luna Luna” or “Drake bought a fantastical, forgotten amusement park made by famous artists. It’s opening in L.A. this winter” from the LA Times.
