The research led to the monumental book ‘Graffiti aan het Spaarne’ and a temporary exhibition in studio 37PK. The basis is an impressive number of photos, shot by Haarlem teenagers. From their own murals and the work of others that they admired.
Breakdance, hip hop and graffiti
What helped is that three people from Haarlem played an active role in the scene. A scene that was modeled after the American image. New York was the cradle of graffiti culture.
“It started here with break dancing,” Rijnders remembers. “You saw that on TV or in films. But the culture turned out to be broader. Not much later we discovered that hip hop and graffiti were also part of it.”
Street culture was most visible in Schalkwijk. “Not surprising,” says Rijnders, who himself has his roots there. “That neighborhood had just been built, many young people lived there. Then such a new culture has a great appeal. And of course it was also just a form of entertainment.”
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