The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into. He finally manages to sell his painting to a wealthy female admirer, but he's paid by check. Low on cash, he spends the evening wandering from club to club, looking for a beautiful girl he had met earlier, so he'll have a place to spend the night. Downtown 81 not only captures one of the most interesting and lively artists of the twentieth century as he is poised for fame, but it is a slice of life from one of the most exciting periods in American culture, with the emergence of new wave music, new painting, hip hop and graffiti.

5th Avenue (btw East 88th and 89th Streets) Manhattan.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue and East 82nd Street, Manhattan.   The Met is the largest art museum in the United States with among the most significant art collections. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments.

Empire State Building, 350 5th Avenue and West 34th Street, Manhattan.

East 8th Street and Lafayette Street, Manhattan.