about jamel shabazz

the photographer

Jamel Shabazz has been documenting the ‘Urban Life’ for
over 30 years. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY he picked up his first camera at the age of 15 and proceeded to record the world around him. Jamel has drawn inspiration from the great James Van Der Zee, Gordon Parks, Robert Capa, Chester Higgins and Eli Reed.

The author of 3 monographs, ‘Back in the Days’,
‘The Last Sunday in June’ and ‘A Time Before Crack, Jamel is presently working on his fourth book, entitled ‘The 90’s'.

the educator

Jamel is dedicated to mentoring youth, both in the field of photography and career planning. Shabazz is a volunteer with the Rush Arts Philanthroicp Foundation, which is an organization that is geared toward exposing inner city youth to the arts.

In addition, Jamel has worked with the Studio Museum
in Harlem’s ‘Expanding The Walls’ project, a workshop focused
on teaching youth the connection between photography,
history, and community.

He has recently worked with the organization, ‘Plays For
A Living’, another community based organization dedicated
to the well-being of young people. The theme of the project
was ‘Compassion’ and he used his photographs to
inspire and educate.