What I would give to have been alive in New York during the 1970s. To witness the rise of hip-hop, graffiti, and street culture would’ve been insanely cool. Thankfully, someone was there, as a striking new art exhibition capturing this incredible period lands in the UK this week (Thursday, May 29) for a month-long residency in Birmingham.
American photographer and filmmaker Henry Chalfant’s photography is world-renowned for capturing graffiti art seconds before being scrubbed away. As such, he is often credited as the reason that early renditions of graffiti art haven’t been lost forever. ‘The Epic Story of Graffiti’ provides a snapshot of when the graffiti movement exploded from the underground to a global platform.
The free-to-attend exhibition—a collection of hundreds of photos and video projections from Chalfant’s archive of painted NYC Subway cars—will be available to view in a large unit off Rotunda Square, at Birmingham’s Bullring until June 30. A schedule of events is programmed alongside ‘The Epic Story of Graffiti’, including Film screenings, talks, as well as opportunities to meet Chalfant himself.
“Henry Chalfant’s work captures a crucial moment in time; a period when New York City was experiencing huge change,” Danielle Bozward, Marketing & Placemaking Manager at Bullring, said. “It was an era characterised as much by the blossoming of cultural innovation and urban activism, but equally by economic crisis, social unrest, and New York declaring near-bankruptcy: parallels that I’m sure will resonate with my fellow Brummies.”
Henry Chalfant added: “I read that Birmingham, like Pittsburgh, where I was born, has gone through de-industrialisation and is now diversifying its economy. There’s a familiar resilience there – a creative determination to reclaim and reimagine public space.” To learn more about ‘The Epic Story of Graffiti’ head here.