PHOTOS: Grateful Dead Photography & Poster Art Exhibit To Open In SF Before Final Dead & Co. Shows

San Francisco’s Haight Street Art Center has announced a special Grateful Dead photography and poster art exhibit, Between the Dark and Light: Grateful Dead 1965-1995, set to coincide with the last three shows of Dead & Company‘s final tour next month.

Curated by acclaimed rock photographer Jay Blakesberg, with text by Grateful Dead historian Blair Jackson, the exhibit will kick off with a special exhibition preview and opening reception on the evening of Tuesday, July 11th from 5–9 p.m. with a live screen-printing demo, music from Bay Area keyboardist Scott Guberman, a poster giveaway, and other free swag. The exhibition is then set to run through the summer until September 3rd.

Visitors will behold almost 100 rarely-seen photographs hand-selected by Blakesberg from the Retro Photo Archive and dozens of iconic images from Grateful Dead photographers Adrian Boot, Alvan Meyerowitz, Andy Leonard, Baron Wolman, Bob Minkin, Dave Seabury, Ed Perlstein, Elizabeth Sunflower, Greg Gaar, Herb Greene, Jonathan David Sabin, Mark Norwine, Mary Ann Mayer, Michael Dobo, Patti Healy, Ron Rakow, Rosie McGee, Snooky Flowers, Steve Schneider, Susana Millman, and Blakesberg himself.

“The Grateful Dead has always allowed fans to bring cameras into their concerts, which has left us Dead Heads with a vast photographic history of this band,” Blakesberg said. “Some of us started our careers photographing the Grateful Dead, myself included. The photographs on display show the band on and off stage, and create a wonderful historical look at the band’s 30-year career.”

Also included in the exhibition are posters from the Haight Street Art Center’s collection showcasing the evolution of the Dead’s visual style from the Haight-Ashbury days until Jerry Garcia’s passing in 1995.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Jay to host this extraordinary collection of photographs that capture the musical and cultural journey through the Grateful Dead’s career,” said Kelly Harris, the Haight Street Art Center’s Executive Director. “When combined with posters from the Art Center’s permanent collection, the exhibition poignantly tells the story of a Bay Area treasure that came of age during the golden age of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury.”

Jackson added, “What a great trip it is to see the Dead’s incredible journey told through so many rare or never published photographs, as well as iconic images by some of the best photographers who documented the Grateful Dead experience. From the group’s humble beginnings to its shows in football stadiums packed with dancing Dead Heads, the contours of the Grateful Dead story really come alive in new and exciting ways on the walls of the Haight Street Art Center.”

Head here for tickets to the opening of Between the Dark and Light: Grateful Dead 1965-1995. A limited-edition, commemorative Grateful Dead-themed exhibition poster and handbill designed by Caitlin Mattisson and silkscreened in Haight Street’s studio will be available for purchase.

Scroll down to view additional photos from the exhibition, and for more information on Haight Street Art Center and its upcoming exhibitions, head here.

Adrian Boot, Alvan Meyerowitz, Andy Leonard, Baron Wolman, Bob Minkin, Dave Seabury, Ed Perlstein, Elizabeth Sunflower, Greg Gaar, Herb Greene, Jonathan David Sabin, Mark Norwine, Mary Ann Mayer, Michael Dobo, Patti Healy, Ron Rakow, Rosie McGee, Snooky Flowers, Steve Schneider, Susana Millman, Between the Dark and Light: Grateful Dead 1965-1995, Between the Dark and Light, Between Dark and Light, grateful dead, grateful dead photos, grateful dead photography, grateful dead photographer, jay blakesberg, blair jackson, grateful dead historian, Grateful Dead Photography & Poster Art Exhibit, Grateful Dead Photography & Poster Art Exhibition, Grateful Dead Photography Exhibit, Grateful Dead Photography Exhibition, Grateful Dead Photo Exhibit, Grateful Dead Photo Exhibition, Grateful Dead poster Art Exhibit, Grateful Dead Poster Art Exhibition, Grateful Dead Poster Art, grateful dead art, retro photo archive, scott guberman, haight street art center, dead & company, dead & co, dead & company sf, dead & co sf, dead & company san francisco, dead & co san francisco, grateful dead art exhibit, grateful dead art exhibition, grateful dead art exhibit sf, grateful dead art exhibition sf, grateful dead art exhibit san francisco, grateful dead art exhibition san francisco, jay blakesberg exhibit, jay blakesberg exhibition, jay blakesberg grateful dead exhibit, jay blakesberg grateful dead exhibition, jay blakesberg grateful dead photo exhibit, jay blakesberg grateful dead photo exhibition, jay blakesberg grateful dead photography exhibit, jay blakesberg grateful dead photography exhibition, jay blakesberg grateful dead photography, jay blakesberg grateful dead photo — Bob Dylan and The Dead photographed at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR July 19, 1987 © Jay Blakesberg/Retna LTD.