44 boxes – lost for decades – were opened. Inside was a fair dreamed up by greats of the arts

Children played on fairground rides designed by the world’s greatest artists in a single summer before disappearing for decades.

The attractions were part of the world’s first art entertainment fair – Luna Luna – dreamed up in the 1970s by little-known Austrian creative André Heller, which included a carousel by Keith Haring, a Ferris wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a David Hockney pavilion. Was.

Visitors can wander through Roy Lichtenstein’s Hall of Mirrors and marvel at Salvador Dali’s funerary dome, sample biscuits decorated by artist Gerti Frohlich, with actors dressed as nuns and flamingos.

A successful attraction, plans were made for months for a grand European tour – but when they subsequently fell through, an extensive legal battle ensued and the rides were closed, packed away and forgotten. Went.

So far.

American entrepreneur Michael Goldberg came across Luna Luna on an art blog. Despite contributions from some of the biggest names in the art world, he had never heard of it. He was surprised that he had no friends in the industry.

“Everyone asked me what I was talking about,” he said. “Something seemed strange.”

In ‘Love’ from the Fair, Goldberg wrote to Heller, introducing himself and proposing a new iteration of the Austrian’s original dream.

The two gradually built a rapport and Heller revealed that the attraction had been stored in 44 shipping containers in Austin, Texas since their separation.

Launched in 1987, Luna Luna was successful for three months. Its exhibit was extended twice due to high demand, but while trying to raise funds for a European tour, Heller fell into debt and sold the fair to an American foundation.

According to Goldberg, the foundation tried to back out of the deal – causing “buyers remorse”, but it eventually did. However, for the duration of the years-long battle and new ownership, the ride was placed in storage.

Decades after Luna Luna was packed away, Goldberg assembled a team of investors to purchase whatever was left of the exhibit from the foundation – sight unseen.

Their major investors? Global rap star Drake, through his investment and entertainment business DreamCrew.

DreamCrew CEO Anthony Gonzales told the BBC, “The idea of ​​restoring something so rich in cultural history outweighed the risks and for us, it was not about guarantees.”

The New York Times estimated that he paid $100 million (about £80 million). The Guardian reported that the amount was $1 million. Goldberg did not disclose the final price to the BBC.

When he opened the first container, Goldberg started sweating. Luna Luna’s original cargo was torn to pieces.

“Did I lead a group to spend millions of dollars on a pile of dusty artwork that was basically rotting away?” He was amazed.

It was a sleepless night.

But the next day, as more paper was pulled from another container, the light caught the toffee-apple-red handlebars in Herring’s carousel, then the white floorboards of Basquiat’s Ferris wheel, which “could have been painted a few days earlier.” “. It was a moment of “immediate relief,” Goldberg said.

Locating the artwork was not the hardest part of Luna Luna’s restoration.

Brad Gooch, author of the recent official Haring biography, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, witnessed Luna Luna being rebuilt and described the accomplishment as “mind-boggling.”

“It was like a giant Lego with no instruction kit,” he said.

A team of artists, carnival technicians, curators and architects worked together to meticulously reconstruct Luna Luna for two years ahead of its grand re-opening in L.A. this March.

Now, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy comes to the Midtown Manhattan arts and theater complex, The Shed. The fair features exhibits as well as details of its surreal curation process.

Alex Poots, creative co-founder of The Shed, described the journey as a “Raiders of the Lost Ark story” in the context of the film, noting “Heller’s ability to commission artists of such high caliber while finding the format attractive to art lovers. Admired the potential of. And yet to become a lover of art.”

“This is a sacred endeavor,” he said.

Most of the original rides are now housed in a massive 17,000 square foot space. There, exhibition visitors can “marry” each other in Heller’s Wedding Chapel – originally a form of protest art against the anti-LGBTQ marriage laws of the ’80s.

Hockney’s Enchanted Tree Pavilion still smells faintly sweet, as if children were once crushing popcorn that had fallen on its floor.

Goldberg’s desire to include “today’s greatest artists” was fulfilled by modern musicians Andre 3000, Jamie XX and Jockstrap resonating in the space of the soundtrack.

Drake is not involved on a daily basis, Gonzalez said, but “he is passionate about Luna Luna and has given his full support from the beginning.”

There is one big difference between 1987’s Luna Luna and today’s Luna Luna: children are not allowed to ride.

Basquiat’s Ferris wheel and Kenny Scharf’s swing ride are for display only. So is (thankfully) Manfred Dax’s Palace of the Winds in which the actors basically farted into microphones.

Haring’s biographer Gooch does not think the artist would have approved of children merely seeing his carousel.

“I can’t imagine he would allow that,” he said. “He was very passionate about children’s engagement with art and this art piece was created especially for him.”

Poots, who played a key role in coordinating the interdisciplinary side of the exhibition, said of the decision: “They are now priceless works of art.”

But he favors the possibility for spectators to become “part of this moving exhibition” through “a carnival-esque atmosphere with performing artists accompanied by lights and sound”.

This has been Poots’ career-long mission, not to “build these silos for the elite.”

He said that the ticket prices, which some have criticized as being too high, are “quite reasonable” since the show cost “millions of dollars to install”.

Among the families flocking to the shed over Thanksgiving weekend was Remi Suwatson and her 11-year-old daughter, who learned she wouldn’t be able to go on the ride the morning of their visit.

Herring’s carousel was his favourite. “I wanted to ride it” she said, then added “but it was also cool to look at”.

The show is running from 20 November to 23 February, and will be touring after leaving The Shed. Ticket prices range from $44 for an adult to $241 for a Super Moon Pass that allows buyers to skip the lines. Children’s tickets start at $25.