In conjunction with the exhibition “East Village USA,” the New Museum’s Youth Council presented a film screening of Beyond Bombing! and a youth facilitated panel discussion. The panel featured graffiti writers, curators and emcees representing contemporary graffiti culture both locally and internationally. 

The event was the culmination of the New Museum Youth Council’s exploration of the dynamic elements of graffiti culture from both a contemporary and global perspective. Utilizing “East Village USA” as a historical foundation, youth participated in a 3-month documentary video project, Beyond Bombing!, which focused on the various manifestations of graffiti beyond the bombing and tagging of our city streets. The video featured interviews with artists POSE2, JUICE, COPE2, CERN, SWOON, LADY PINK, ZEKIS, BOUNCE, BORISH, WYSISM, NM, ROBO, Dr. REVOLT, the 1134NYC crew and graffiti sticker collector Michael Anderson, many of whom will also participated in the panel discussion. Looking at the future of the art form within the boundaries of the law, these youth explored options available to express graffiti style and aesthetics in the professional environments from website and graphic design studios to the urban fashion industry. Beyond Bombing! shed light on graffiti as one of the purest and most prolific expressions of youth identity and pays respect to the creative voice of an enduring subculture.