Jamel Shabazz
(b. 1960)Jamel Shabazz’s practice follows a long tradition of photographers, from James Van Der Zee to Dawoud Bey, who shaped the visual legacy of Harlem.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shabazz began taking photographs of his friends and family at fifteen years old. His earliest visual influences include photo albums which have been passed down and added to across generations of his family.
Shabazz 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 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 presentation 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 to social responsibility and 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.
Exhibitions and Events
Jamel Shabazz
(b. 1960)Jamel Shabazz’s practice follows a long tradition of photographers, from James Van Der Zee to Dawoud Bey, who shaped the visual legacy of Harlem.
We Love Our Youth, 1998
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shabazz began taking photographs of his friends and family at fifteen years old. His earliest visual influences include photo albums which have been passed down and added to across generations of his family.
Shabazz 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 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 presentation 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 to social responsibility and 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.
Exhibitions and Events