Luna Luna, the World's First Art Amusement Park, Reopens in Los Angeles
After spending decades in storage containers, the world's first art amusement park is back, thanks to investment and restoration efforts by Drake.
Luna Luna first opened in Hamburg, Germany in 1987. The original amusement park showcased games and rides created by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, and Salvador Dalí, among others. The project was created by André Heller, an Austrian multimedia artist, as the latest endeavor in the artist's long list of completed projects. He infused Luna Luna with fantastical, magical visual elements alongside the unique pieces contributed by other artists.
Heller started the project over 10 years before it fully came to life, searching the globe for artists to contribute to Luna Luna. Eventually, he gathered over 30 artists to help build his vision of the park. Attractions at Luna Luna included a Keith Haring carousel, a Jean-Michel Basquiat Ferris Wheel, an abstract mirrored funhouse by Salvador Dalí, and a geometrical enchanted forest pavilion created by David Hockney—all of which have been brought back to life in Los Angeles this year.
After its time in Germany, the park was set to move to California decades ago. Unfortunately, due to an internal dispute, the project was abandoned and left sitting in 44 separate shipping containers in a warehouse in Texas.
In January of 2022, the shipping containers were found and recovered, marking the beginning of restoration efforts for the park. As of December 2023, the attractions, games, rides, and pieces of art are housed in a 60,000-square-foot space in Los Angeles, open to the public for admiration and enjoyment as originally intended.
Behind the revitalization effort are partners Michael Goldberg, Anthony Gonzales, Daniel McClean, and Justin Wills, with Helen Molesworth as the project's curatorial adviser and Lumi Tan as the curatorial director. Another significant, albeit perhaps unexpected participant in the project is Drake, who reportedly invested $100 million into the restoration effort.
Luna Luna is now open to the public at 1601 E 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90023. To visit the amusement park and explore the work of world-renowned artists in a completely new way, simply purchase tickets ahead of time and visit the park at your leisure.