Redefining street photography in the 21st Century

A new exhibition celebrates the transformative art of street photography.

With the explosion of digital technology, street photography is the last bastion of image-making that exists free from the careerist trappings of industry. With few barriers to entry, it has become the lingua franca of local culture on a global scale, open to anyone who dares to try their hand.

“Street photography has become one of the most popular and accessible genres within the medium. Smartphones have truly transformed and democratised this genre of photography, into an art form that anyone can participate in,” says Isolde Brielmaier, Guest Curator of the new exhibition, We Are Here: Scenes from the Streets at the International Center of Photography in New York.

For decades, street photography was imagined as the provenance of the urban flâneur set against the ever changing cityscape. A blur of private lives unfolding against the drama and pathos of public space. But as street photography takes root in every corner of the globe, new generations of artists are redefining the possibilities of what the genre can be.

For We Are Here, Brielmaier teamed up with independent curatorial assistant Noa Wynn to bring together the work of 30 international artists including Daido Moriyama, Vanessa Charlot, Mel D. Cole, and Joseph Rodriguez who are pushing the boundaries of the form.

The exhibition opens in the 1970s on the Lower East Side where the ICP is now located with “An Ode to New York”, paying homage to the groundbreaking photographers who saw a new city emerging in the rubble and decay of landlord sponsored arson and “benign neglect.”

“This era signalled a critical moment both in the evolution of street photography and in New York City’s cultural and political landscape,” says Brielmaier. “The Lower East Side serves as a crossroads for artists like Martha Cooper, Jamel Shabazz, and Janette Beckman, who made some of their most poignant images here, photographs that continue to inspire the younger generation of image makers.”

Pretty Woman by Daido Moriyama

Untitled by Trevor Stuurman

We Are Here soon departs from the strictures of the past, leaving the familiar outlines of the metropolitan cityscape for greener pastures. “With our exhibition, we aim to challenge and dismantle the long-standing dominant narrative, which often reflects a Western, urban-centric topography,” says Brielmaier.

Liberated from the limiting tropes of urban planning in the Global North, the exhibition offers an expansive, inclusive, and layered look at “the street”, whether it is to be found in the suburbs, the countryside, or the desert.

The exhibition features lyrical scenes by Farnaz Damnabi (Iran), Debrani Das (India), Stephen Tayo (Nigeria), Soufian Chemcham (Algeria), and Feng Li (China) that offer fresh and innovative perspectives on the language of street photography.

“Street photography serves as a powerful tool for documenting civil unrest, protests, and the daily lives of everyday people from diverse communities,” says Brielmaier. “This genre provides visibility, voice, and encourages social change.”