Jamel Shabazz
New York Moves and Black Communities
A collaboration with Kunsthaus Nürnberg, with the kind support of Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne
July 11 – September 13, 2026 / Opening with summer festival July 10, 2026 | Curated by Barbara Hofmann-Johnson
Jamel Shabazz, The Righteous Brothers, NYC 1981 © Jamel Shabazz, Courtesy Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne
Jamel Shabazz, Fly Girl, Brownsville, Brooklyn, NYC 1980 © Jamel Shabazz, Courtesy Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jamel Shabazz (born 1960) began photographing people he encountered on the streets of New York in the late 1970s. Since then, his portraits have largely been created in public spaces, fitting into the tradition of street photography and the depiction of people in public spaces. The street as a space for encounter and self-expression, whether through fashion or posing, as a stage for music, and also as a venue for critical moments in the lives of individuals and communities from different generations, are the themes Shabazz explores.
For many years, Jamel Shabazz has documented the lives of Black and Latino people in New York through his direct yet sensitive portraits. His portraits consistently convey empathy and intimacy, compositionally capturing unique moments within the urban landscape, which for many of his subjects becomes a space for social interaction and a stage for developing their identities. Shabazz's work can be seen as belonging to the tradition of socially engaged photography and the approach of Gordon Parks. The exceptional quality of Jamel Shabazz's photographs allows him to capture the positive energy and life moments of minorities, often those socially disadvantaged due to their skin color, despite their frequently challenging circumstances.
In 2018, he was awarded the Gordon Parks Foundation Prize. In 2022, he received a publication prize from the Gordon Parks Foundation for a publication with Steidl.
Following important museum exhibitions in New York and Europe, as well as numerous publications internationally, the Museum of Photography Braunschweig presents the first museum exhibition in Germany of the work of the New Yorker. Key series of works created in black and white and color photography since the early 1980s, early photo albums, and books by the Brooklyn, New York-based photographer will be on display.
The exhibition is a collaboration with the Kunsthaus Nürnberg and was made possible with the kind support of the Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne.
