NYC
Defiant photos of New York’s ’80s & ’90s queer activists
Arresting Images — Dona Ann McAdams’ photographs document the AIDS crisis, lesbian organising and civil disobedience from one of the most fraught eras in American LGBTQ+ history. A sale of her archive takes place later this month.
Written by: Sydney Lobe
In the 1960s, African photographers recaptured their own image
Ideas of Africa — An exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art explores the 20th century’s most important lensers, including Seydou Keïta, Malick Sidibé and Kwame Brathwaite, and their impact on challenging dominant European narratives.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Wu-Tang Clan forever, and ever
The Final Chamber — RZA, the spiritual leader of one of the most important hip hop groups of all time explains why they won’t rest until their legacy is secured.
Written by: Yoh Phillips
Lisette Model’s ’50s jazz pictures were nearly lost to McCarthyism
The Jazz Pictures — A landmark new book edited by Audrey Sands uncovers nearly 1,500 photographs from the genre’s golden age previously thought to be lost. Featuring the likes of Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, they tell both a story of music and resistance in the face of oppression.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Greer Lankton’s dolls are more human than you think
Could It Be Love — A staple figure in New York’s ’80s East Village scene, her art shocked and confronted. Now, three decades after her death, a new monograph anthologises her work, which explores the darker sides of human life, but also finds beauty within the strange.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In photos: ’00s Brooklyn on the cusp of gentrification
I Give You Power — Rulx Thork began photographing in his local borough in 2005, after a stint living and hanging out in the East and West Villages. His new photobook revisits his archive, and preserves a slice of New York City life and history.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Who was the real Jean-Michel Basquiat?
The Making of an Icon — A new book by art world insider Doug Woodham aims to illuminate the near-mythical artist’s life, via the friends, family and collaborators who knew him best.
Written by: Miss Rosen
I Hear Music in the Streets: How New York emerged as a global beacon of culture
From subways to the sky — Seeing the emergence of disco, hip-hop and much more, the city’s streets, rooftops and blocks were incubators of experimentation and parties in the ’70s and ’80s. A new book brings together the work of over 50 photographers who captured its grassroots, underground heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Sombre, tender photos of final goodbyes during the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Book of The Dead — As one of the very few Black photographers operating in the 20th century, James Van Der Zee’s sepia-tinged archive remains a crucial documentation of New York’s African American history. Now, one of his classic books, capturing funeral culture, is back in print.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The rave exploring New York and New Jersey’s hidden crevices
Nocturnal Creatures Society — Founded in the wake of the pandemic, the underground party uses the Tri-state Area’s dense urban forest as a playground for its community. We spoke to photographer Matteo Cassina, who has been documenting it since its early editions.
Written by: Josh Jones
An inside look at New York City’s best independent record stores
Vinyl NYC — A new book from James T. & Karla L. Murray and Hattie Lindert explores the frontages, interiors and people of shops located across the five boroughs, while archiving their existences.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The all-woman skate crew taking over the streets of NYC
Skate Kitchen — As a new film shares Skate Kitchen's story with the wider world, this supergroup is on a mission that feels much bigger than skateboarding.
Written by: Cian Traynor
