EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions featuring Jay’s body of work that celebrate the unique experience of photographing legendary musicians along with the fan communities and relationships that surround and propel them, exclusively using film cameras.
current EXHIBITION
Aug 31, 2023 – July 28, 2024
The Contemporary Jewish Museum
Travel through some of the most explosive moments in music history through the lens of Bay Area–based photographer Jay Blakesberg. RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped presents photographs of legendary musicians that reveal the evolution of San Francisco’s unique music culture and its wide-reaching influence. The exhibition brings together more than 150 photographs and related ephemera from the years 1978–2008, when Blakesberg shot exclusively on film.
Growing up as a Jewish kid in New Jersey, Blakesberg chased his passion for music and photography to San Francisco, where he chronicled era-defining musicians and moments across rock, grunge, blues, psychedelic, folk, and every genre in between. Featuring images of the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Neil Young, Soundgarden, Carlos Santana, and many more alongside original tickets stubs, press passes, and other ephemera, this exhibition invites visitors to experience an electrifying visual history of the sounds and stories that have shaped the Bay Area and beyond.
RetroBlakesberg:
THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED
CURRENT & PAST EXHIBITIONS