Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation presents the exhibitions “Jamel Shabazz. New York Vibes” and “Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026”

“Jamel Shabazz. New York Vibes”

Since the early 1980s, American photographer Jamel Shabazz (b. 1960) has been using his camera to document scenes of everyday life in the predominantly African-American neighbourhood in his hometown New York. On his walks through Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn he has taken countless portraits that are now icons of their era. Shabazz made the streets his studio, capturing the exuberant creativity of the young generation in vibrant images. The fact that he was perceived not as a distant observer but as someone from the same social reality as his subjects is apparent in the intimate atmosphere of his individual and group portraits: Full of self-confidence, Black women, men, and children gaze into the camera and boldly present their stylish outfits and cool moves.

As a child, Shabazz discovered the world of photography through family albums, magazines, and books that revealed to him the importance and diversity of the medium. In his teenage years, he created early portraits of his friends with his first camera. In 1980, after serving in the US Army for three years in West Germany, he began to systematically capture his daily encounters on the street, in parks, and on the subway. His photographs document the birth of hip-hop culture as well as the importance of friendship, family, and neighbourhood. They were created at a time when life in New York was also affected by the consequences of economic decline, racial inequality, the crack epidemic and mass incarceration.

Shabazz experienced the impact this had on the Black population firsthand. For more than twenty years, he worked as a correction officer in institutions such as Rikers Island, one of the largest jails in the United States that houses mainly pretrial detainees awaiting court appearances, most of whom are poor, and more than half of whom suffer from mental illness. 

While his photographs in public space convey a sense of freedom, belonging, and youthful energy, his pictures taken in prisons shed light on the futility, marginalisation, and often devastating consequences of social inequality. In these works, too, Shabazz exhibits the same receptiveness and, without depriving them of their dignity, shows people whose biographies are marked by disruptions.

Featuring over 60 photographs, this exhibition is the first in Germany to offer a comprehensive insight into Shabazz’s multifaceted perspectives on African-American life in New York in the 1980s and 1990s. The show brings together photographs of exuberant moments of urban youth culture as well as introspective images of a repressive institutional structure, raising fundamental questions about identity, community, and justice. The exhibition was organised in collaboration with Galerie Bene Taschen and was curated by Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

Accompanying Programme

Alongside the exhibition “Jamel Shabazz. New York Vibes”, the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation is organising the accompanying film series “New York Vibes on Screen”, in collaboration with the Arthouse Cinemas Frankfurt. It will screen celebrated cinematic classics that shed light on the cultural vibrancy of New York in the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on the lived experiences, forms of expression, and perspectives of African-American communities: “Do the Right Thing” by Spike Lee (5 October 2026), “Beat Street” by Stan Lathan (3 November 2026), “Clockers” by Spike Lee (1 December 2026). An additional film will be shown as a surprise screening on 30 November 2026 as part of the “Milestones” series. Each screening will be preceded by an introduction. Tickets are available at www.arthousekinos.de.

About Jamel Shabazz

Jamel Shabazz was born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. Upon his return to New York, he began documenting life on the streets of his hometown through photography in 1980. From 1985 to 1987, he studied at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Beginning in 1983, Shabazz spent more than two decades working for the New York City Department of Correction, serving in correctional facilities on Rikers Island. He has published numerous monographs on his photographic work and has been represented in the Art Collection Deutsche Börse with nine works since 2021. Jamel Shabazz lives and works in New York, USA.
 

“Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026“

At the same time, the Photography Foundation presents the exhibition of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026. Awarded annually by the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in collaboration with the Photographers’ Gallery in London, it is one of the most prestigious international awards for contemporary photography. This year’s shortlisted artists are Jane Evelyn Atwood, Weronika Gęsicka, Amak Mahmoodian, and the winner Rene Matić.

Jane Evelyn Atwood documented the lives of women in prisons in Europe and the United States with compassion over a period of more than ten years, while also advocating for the improvement of their conditions. Rene Matić’s installation combines everyday observations with intimate insights into their own circle of friends. From a queer, non-white perspective, Matić poses questions about community, belonging, subculture, and class. The Iranian artist Amak Mahmoodian, who lives in exile in the United Kingdom, explores the dreams of others who share this experience, using photography, drawing, and poetry to create layered narratives about loss, hope, and identity. Weronika Gęsicka, in turn, works with stock photographs and AI-generated images to visualise historical misinformation and question the reliability of knowledge and information systems. Together, the four projects open up different perspectives on social issues such as migration, gender inequality, identity, and the search for truth. The exhibition shows the great diversity of the forms of photographic expression employed by the featured artists, ranging from classic black-and-white images, collaborative projects, and installation collages to AI-based works. It was curated by Julia Bunnemann from the Photographers’ Gallery.

About the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize

Launched by the Photographers’ Gallery in 1996, the Prize has developed over the course of 30 years into one of the most prestigious international awards for contemporary photography. Since 2005, it has been awarded jointly with Deutsche Börse Group. In 2016, it was renamed the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize after the foundation was established as a charitable organisation. The prestigious award recognises artists whose projects have made a significant contribution to contemporary photography during the previous twelve months. Each year, a group of over 100 photography experts nominates what they consider to be the most significant exhibition projects or publications from the previous year in Europe. An international jury selects four finalists from these nominations. In May 2026, Rene Matić was announced as the winner of the prestigious £30,000 prize at the Photographers’ Gallery, London. This year’s jury comprised Anne-Marie Beckmann (Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation), Shoair Mavlian (Director of the Photographers’ Gallery) as voting chair, Elisa Medde (Director of Foto Colectania Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, and former Editor-in-Chief of Foam Magazine), Mark Sealy OBE (Executive Director of Autograph), and Newsha Tavakolian (photographer and Magnum Photos member).

Visiting Information and Public Programme

Both exhibitions will open on 2 September 2026 at 6:30 pm and will be on view at The Cube, Eschborn, until 17 January 2027. Admission is free. The exhibitions can be visited during the Frankfurt Art Experience on 5 September, as part of regular guided tours, and on the “Open Saturdays” on 31 October 2026 and 16 January 2027 from 11 am to 4 pm. Special appointments for individual groups (up to 25 people) can be arranged by email at foundation@deutsche-boerse.com.

Exhibition Venue: The Cube, Mergenthalerallee 61, 65760 Eschborn, Germany

Notes to Editors

A press preview of both exhibitions will take place on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, at 11 am. Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, and Jamel Shabazz will guide through the exhibition “Jamel Shabazz. New York Vibes”. The artist will be available for interviews afterwards.

For the exhibition “Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026”, artists Weronika Gęsicka, Amak Mahmoodian and Rene Matić, as well as curator Julia Bunnemann, and Shoair Mavlian, Director of the Photographers’ Gallery, London, will be present.
Please register by 28 August 2026 via: Media.Foundation@deutsche-boerse.com.

You can find an overview of the press images for “Jamel Shabazz: New York Vibes” here. Press images for the exhibition “Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026” can be found here. We will be happy to provide high-resolution images upon request.

Media Contact:
Anika Manthey
Media.Foundation@deutsche-boerse.com
Tel. +49 69 21117628

About Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation

The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and promoting contemporary photography. It is responsible for the development and presentation of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, which now comprises over 2,400 photographic works by around 180 artists from 40 countries. In its exhibition space in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main, the Foundation presents several public exhibitions each year. It supports young artists through awards, scholarships or the talent programme of the Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Foam. Together with the Photographers' Gallery in London, it awards the renowned Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize every year. The Foundation also supports exhibition projects by international museums and institutions and fosters academic dialogue on photography as well as curatorial practice.
www.deutscheboersephotographyfoundation.org