5 Pointz Curators Host Street Art Photography Exhibit at Gold Coast Arts Center on Long Island

Street art usually has a short shelf life. From the NYC Graffiti Free vans roaming the city, to the closing and whitewashing of 5 Pointz graffiti mecca late last year, and the destruction of Banksy’s work during his residency, NYC graffiti has been given a very “here one day, gone the next” time table. Nonetheless, the photographers of street art provide a historical documentation of the roots and evolution of graffiti and Hip Hop culture that began here in NYC.

The Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck, Long Island, with the support of the organizers of 5 Pointz curators Marie Cecil Flageul and Meres One, is currently hosting a photography exhibit curated by Jude Amsel, featuring the work of those keeping graffiti and urban culture alive in NYC. In addition to photos of 5 Pointz, included in the show are also photos with the theme of graffiti and Hip Hop culture from Berlin and other parts of the world

Farbeon

Street photographers in this show include Hans Von Ritten, Jay Hirschfeld, Raymond Hamlin and Farbeon, founder of the Hip Hop Re:Education project, and Untapped Cities contributor Rachel Alban, who actually adopted the 5Pointz cat!  A photo from “The Invisible Man” Liu Bolin is also on display at the gallery, featuring a photo of the famed camouflage artist during his visit to 5 Pointz, before the paint was removed from the graffiti landmark.

Raymond Hamlin w/ daughter

The exhibit is running until April 27th. Only twenty minutes from Manhattan by LIRR and five blocks away from the station, it is not a hassle to travel down there. We have all known people by now who have waited in line for hours for cronuts, so traveling to Great Neck should be a piece of cake, or cronut.

Rachel Alban at the opening event

The 5Pointz artists are looking to the future as they prep for two big upcoming shows: The White Wash show, opening April 5th to the public at Jeffrey Ledder Gallery in Long Island City. For this show, artists will be painting their feelings about the whitewash of 5Pointz. They are also working on a map show (graffiti art painted on MTA subway maps) which opens in France March 20th in Lyon at Gallery de l’Art.

Contact the author @TatteredFedora. All photography of the event done by Rachel Alban