Jamel Shabazz
The BDC's upcoming exhibition on celebrated photographer Jamel Shabazz offers a comprehensive look at his work from the 1970s to the early 2000s, including iconic photo albums, early images of his junior high classmates, and photography spanning fashion, street, and documentary styles. It highlights Shabazz's talent for capturing powerful stories of identity, resilience, and community from the streets of New York and beyond.
"I embarked on my photographic journey 50 years ago as a curious 15-year-old kid coming out of Brooklyn, using my mother's Kodak Instamatic 126 camera.
My primary subjects during that time were my junior high school classmates, who were more than willing to pose for me.
Back then, I would take the finished film to the local drug store for processing, and return about a week later to see the results of my efforts. To my surprise I made some pretty decent prints that I would then put into small photo albums and share with my friends. From that moment on, I developed a profound love for photography and preserving memories.
From 1975 to 2024 I have amassed quite a number of photo albums showing a wide range of images–from my original prints from the 1970's, to some of the very first black and white prints I developed in my makeshift darkroom. There are fashion, street and documentary work featured in all of the albums. "—Jamel Shabazz
On View:
February 28 - April 20, 2025
Gallery Hours:
Thur-Fri 3-7PM
Sat-Sun 1-5PM
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jamel Shabazz (@jamelshabazz) attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice before devoting himself full-time to photography. Inspired by the work of Gordon Parks, James Van Der Zee, and others, Shabazz has sought to document life in New York City, in all its complexity. His work has been featured in several exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem, including his 2017 solo show Jamel Shabazz: Crossing 125th. He has been included in solo and group exhibitions at the Central Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, the Nasher Museum at Duke University, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Shabazz maintains a commitment young people’s access to photography, and has served as a teaching artist for the Studio Museum’s Expanding the Walls program, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the Bronx Museum’s Teen Council youth program, the International Center of Photography, Friends of Island Academy, and the Mural Arts program in Germantown, Pennsylvania, among others.
Location: BDC Annex, 364 E. 151st St, Bronx, NY 10455