With the rise of graffiti art and community street parties (or block parties) in the South Bronx of the early 70s, new forms of urban expression were flowering. At these events, sections of vinyl records would be played between two decks to create a musical whole, over a which an MC would chat or rhyme. This became known as hip hop or rap, and along with the spray-canned decoration of subway trains, public buildings and structures and a sharp way of dressing, a mode street culture was born that by the 80s would combine commerce and protest on a scale previously unknown.
The six-decade story will be told at the Saatchi Gallery in November when Beyond The Streets, the creative, educational platform for artists of all kinds at pavement level, will launch a new exhibition at the Chelsea space. In addition to showcasing the New York origins of the culture, and the UK’s adjacent two-tone scene, historic and obscure works from leading figures such as drum’n’bass pioneer Goldie, sculptor and designer KAWS, and New York artist-activists Guerrilla Girls will be on display.
Over 10 rooms, the work of more than 100 artists will include paintings, sculpture, fashion displays, installation, site-specific interactions, rare archives and ephemera — some of which have been made specifically for the show — to create an immersive experience for the visitor. The aim is to “feel” street culture as an attitude and influence within art, photography, music and fashion, in addition to viewing it as historical fact.
Other highlights include a film by Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, who spent two years in a Russian prison for her protest performance Punk Prayer in 2012, works by Neil Kenlock, official photographer to the UK Black Panthers and original graffiti pioneers Futura 2000, Lady Pink and Zephyr. There’s a recreation of a New York subway train, and the artist Shepard Fairey, whose “Hope” portrait is associated with Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign.
The exhibition also gathers many rare archives including displays of football firm “calling” cards, the See Red Women’s Workshop (the London printing studio that produced much significant imagery for the Women’s Liberation Movement between 1974 and 1990), a history of London Underground graffiti, UK magazine Hip Hop Connection, Jill Posner’s collection of radical feminist graffiti and early 1970s polaroids of some of hip hop’s future stars.
The Big Issue magazine will also mark its 35th anniversary at the show with 35 of its most important front covers.
Beyond The Streets founder Roger Gastman, said: “This exhibition is not about nostalgia or spectacle; it is about respect and truth. It is alive. Continuously evolving, continuously rewritten, shaped by the culture it serves. I believe the work we present is as vital, needed and relevant as it ever was.”
Beyond The Streets at the Saatchi Gallery, November 11, 2026 to May 27, 2027
Further information can be found here.
