LOCATION: OUTSIDE OPEN EYE GALLERY, ON ‘THE FOREST’ PHOTO DISPLAY

EXHIBITION: 15 JUNE — 7 JULY

ALL WELCOME

A new exhibition in the space outside Open Eye Gallery throws light on the vibrant arts scene that erupted in the East Village, New York, throughout the early 1980s. Curated by New Yorker Suzie Zabrowska, the show features work from four photographers who lived through the era, charting the people, places and culture that still resonate worldwide today.

Revolving around portraits of Keith Haring and friends, New York Scene/ Unseen compliments the artist’s major exhibition at Tate Liverpool, and connects to Open Eye Gallery’s Kinship exhibition.

Suzie Zabrowska, Curator, said:

“Each of us was involved in our own way, individually and collectively, and contributed to this significant art scene. Something truly inexplicable and mystical happened in this one decade. The blocks of the east village world, with its scuzzy glamour, real danger and decaying low rent tenements, gave birth to an explosion of expression.””

“These rare photos have seldom been seen before. As young people, all of these photographers were part of the social scene in which Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, and hundreds of other artists blossomed. I wanted to show how that time really was, from the people that lived through it. The exhibition gives a voice to the people who were there, and a voice to the friends who are no longer here.”

New York Scene/ Unseen will be displayed in Mann Island’s Winter Garden space, on ‘The Forest’, Open Eye Gallery’s custom-built photograph display stands. It will be accompanied by a digital exhibition on a large display. It is part of their programme around Kinship, an exhibition about relationships and social structures, that also includes Queer Icons & Disco Freaks, in partnership with The Liverpool Gallery’s season around queer nightlife culture.

ALL WELCOME