Joseph in his bedroom-cum-studio.
Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
Next Big Thing: Khidr Joseph
Joseph operates outside the confines of the traditional art world, creating powerful public art throughout Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant
For the past four years, Khidr Joseph has been operating outside the confines of the traditional art world, creating powerful public art throughout the Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“I’m really vibing with creating PSA campaigns around specific issues I see within different communities,” says Joseph. One series went viral on Instagram, gaining over 13 million views in a single week. “I want to continue making visually engaging work that promotes discussions around these issues.”
Excerpts from Khidr Joseph’s “Teach Your Son” series, including a wheat- pasted poster on a Brooklyn wall. Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
Freedom of expression: Attending a predominantly white college helped Joseph define his artistic practice. “I hid a significant part of my identity and experience from my work. How does one express their Blackness within a room full of white people? Unapologetically! Once I learned that, the sky was the limit. Everything I have made since then has been a reflection of me.”
Still from Joseph's new self-portrait series. Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
Still from Joseph's new self-portrait series. Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
“Khidr creates public art that challenges viewers to reflect on their attitudes and behaviors that cause harm within our communities”
Hank Willis Thomas
Up next: A new self-portrait series will focus on his grandfather’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the rippling effects of what he experienced, and the lasting generational trauma. The images and screen prints will be on view in a solo exhibition at New York University in February 2024.
Still from Joseph's new self-portrait series. Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2023 Winter Issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Click here to see the full list of “Next Big Things.”
Cover: Joseph in his bedroom-cum-studio.
Photo: KHIDR JOSEPH
