Grandmaster Flash hails Basquiat at First Thursday

AGO's First Thursdays enters its third year of late night gallery parties by celebrating their newly-opened Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit. Headlining the party was one of hip-hop's founding fathers, Grandmaster Flash, who hasn't stopped DJ-ing since he was behind the decks with the Furious Five (see: "The Message"). Local future soul duo Bonjay had the honor of opening for him, using their time to experiment with new material.

Like more recent First Thursdays, most of the AGO was open for all ticket holders, including the featured Basquiat exhibition, with added one-night-only works all relating to the main exhibit. A variety of not-so-fast food was available from the Night Market, while drinks and ballet-break dancing were never far away.

Check out 20 moments of the AGO's party of the year in our photo gallery.

Writing and photos by Matt Forsythe