Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street
Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street is the celebration of Brooklyn born photographer Jamel Shabazz’s iconic forty-year career documenting the energy of New York street life and culture through everyday people and their communities.
Exposed to the power of photography at an early age, Shabazz’s home was filled with history books, magazines, and images that his father took as a professional photographer. He was greatly Influenced by Leonard Freed’s 1968 photo essay Black in White America, igniting his awareness to racism and discrimination. As new worlds opened up to him, Shabazz took to the streets with his first camera at the age of 15 and began to document his local community and the people within it.
Organized by Antonio Sergio Bessa.
Through the camera’s lens, Shabazz became a master visionary in capturing the energy, joy, and style of black communities during the 1980s, when the city experienced a renaissance with the emergence of hip hop and youth culture. Shabazz’s archive includes vital images of street style, collective pride, self-determination, and urban grit – counter images to the negative stereotypes perpetuated by mass media about the lived experiences of black individuals during this time. Through the years, Shabazz experienced and documented how these same vibrant communities became engulfed by the crack epidemic, AIDS, and the eventual process of gentrification. Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street honors this “visual diary” of the artist’s life, observations, and encounters, as well as his unwavering commitment to use art as a tool to inspire and empower.
Exhibition Images
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Jamel Shabazz. Looking to the Future. Flatbush, Brooklyn. 1980. -
Jamel Shabazz. PR Seeds. Bushwick, NY. n.d. -
Jamel Shabazz. Joy Riding. 1980. -
Jamel Shabazz. Fly Girls. Brooklyn, NYC. 1982. -
Jamel Shabazz. Church Ladies. Harlem, NYC. 1997. -
Jamel Shabazz, “A time of innocence” Flatbush, Brooklyn. 1981.
About the Artist
Jamel Shabazz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of fifteen, he picked up his first camera and started to document his peers. Inspired by photographers Leonard Freed, James Van Der Zee, and Gordon Parks, he was marveled with their documentation of the African American community. In 1980 as a concerned photographer with a clear vision he embarked on a mission to extensively document various aspects of life in New York City, from youth culture to a wide range of social conditions. Due to its spontaneity and uniqueness, the streets and subway system became backdrops for many of his photographs.
Shabazz says his goal is to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture. In the past 10 years he has had over two dozen solo exhibitions; “Men of Honor”, “A Time Before Crack”, “Pieces of a Man”, “Represent”, When Two Worlds Meet”, “Back in the Days,” and “Seconds of my Life,” which have been shown from Argentina to The Netherlands, England, Italy, Germany, France, Japan and throughout the United States.
An even longer list of group showings include Art Basel; Miami, the Brooklyn Museum, the Newark Museum, the Contact Photo Festival, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Duke University, and the Adidas Photo Festival in Ethiopia.
Over the years Jamel has volunteered, working with a wide range of organizations centered on inspiring young people in the field of photography and social responsibility. In addition, he has been a teaching artist with the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation; the Bronx Museum’s Teen Council youth program, The International Center of Photography, Friends of the Island Academy; and the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Expanding the Walls Project.
Adding to his community service he has lectured at the Fashion Institute of Technology, The International Center for Photography, The Brooklyn Historic Foundation, Haverford College and Parsons New School of Design.
Shabazz is the author of 5 monographs and has contributed to numerous others. He is presently working on a new book, titled “The Book of Life”.
Exhibition Support
Jamel Shabazz: Eyes on the Street is made possible by the lead sponsorship of an anonymous patron and the additional support of Derrick Adams, Dana Emmott, Joseph Mizzi, Melissa Osterwind, Steve Shapiro, and SRI Fine Art Services. Special thanks to Griffin Editions, and Faith Art Gallery.
