DOPE Style Maker » Akintola Hanif

MORE FEAR Exhibit Press Release

DOPE Style Maker — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:00:43 +0000

Brooklyn, NY – March 3, 2007 – The Gallery at Harriet’s Alter Ego hosts MORE FEAR: The Final Call, a visual diary of the finest and most nadir moments of a people neglected, featuring work by Brooklyn photographers Akintola Hanif and Jamel Shabazz. The show will run from April 8 - May 4, 2007 with an opening reception on Sunday, April 8, from 3:00PM – 6:00PM.

Using their lenses as a tool to unearth society’s successes and failures, both Hanif and Shabazz have been recording the lives of underappreciated and misrepresented peoples in and around the New York City area for several years. Through MORE FEAR they aspire to light a match of influence that will provoke communal change and evolution.

Download the full article: MORE FEAR Exhibit Press Release (.pdf)

Client: Akintola Hanif, Jamel Shabazz
Date: March 2007

Freedom or Everybody Dies Synopsis

DOPE Style Maker — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 10:50:56 +0000

Freedom or Everybody Dies is a 5-minute mixed media short that blends photography, video and music to tell the real story of hip-hop’s present generation. Focusing on the subculture that takes place in many of America’s inner cities, Freedom or Everybody Dies is comprised of still photos and video footage synchronized to a score that highlights the intensity of the images.

Shot in and around the now defunct Arcadian Gardens, a subsidized housing project in East Orange, New Jersey, the short fi lm gives a glimpse into the lives of the children and young adults who lived there. With B.L.O.O.D. red as the backdrop, director Akintola Hanif presents a very real image of the gang presence and culture within “The Bity”, as Arcadian Gardens is known to it’s former residents.

Download the full article: Freedom or Everybody Dies Synopsis (.pdf)

Client: Akintola Hanif
Date: Spring 2006

Akintola Hanif Bio

DOPE Style Maker — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 10:40:37 +0000

Growing up in Brooklyn, AKINTOLA HANIF was no stranger to the fine arts scene. As a child, he and his father often frequented places like the National Black Theater and the legendary Studio Museum in Harlem, introducing him to some of the most prominent artists of the time.

Akintola was introduced to the graffiti and pop art movement, which dominated New York City’s gallery scene, at a young age. By his early teens, HYZE (an alias he was given at 19) had learned the art of airbrushing and spray painting and began painting murals on the walls and storefronts of New York City under the tag Dest (AOK,CWK). One of his murals is immortalized in Henry Chalfant’s 1985 book “Spraycan Art”.

Download the full article: Akintola Hanif Bio (.pdf)

Client: Akintola Hanif
Date: Fall 2005