Against the Grain celebrates skate culture and the camera over the last 50 years

Despite the subculture’s influence and resonance in almost every aspect of popular culture, this emblem of freedom and rebellion has been largely ignored as an art form... until now.

Brought together for the first time, this historical review highlights behind the scene glimpses and cultural shifts associated with skateboarding throughout the past 50 years. Pioneering figures skating Southern California pools and schoolyard banks of the 1970s are portrayed, as well as devious manipulations of urban architecture shaping new chapters of skateboarding’s evolution.

Curated and produced by Jaime Marie Davis and Frankie Shea, the show includes previously unseen photography from the archives of Oscar-winning director Spike Jonze, and Glen E. Friedman – the man who has been coined by Russell Simmons as defining the imagery of hip hop. Also, internationally celebrated photographer Mike O’Meally's recent photography of London’s Palace Skate Team and images from the archive of Transworld Skateboard Magazine editor and former Adidas skate team manager Skin Phillips.

Launching this July in London, the exhibition will tour to North America during 2019, as well as Tokyo in 2020 for the Olympics, when skateboarding will be in the included for the first time. The tour will focus on the skate community and specific history where each exhibition is held, placing it in a broader context of an international scene. Find out more at atg-exhibition.com.