Publications often play catalyst for nascent movements, both culturally and socially. East Village Eye held this role in New York for just under ten years, from 1979 to 1987. Within that relatively brief tenure the monthly publication pushed boundaries, ushered in emerging scenes, and collated pioneering names from cultural fields, from Richard Hell to Keith Haring, David Lynch to Run DMC. Of course, this is part of the reason that Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair has become such a force of cross-cultural communication since its inception.

In advance of the fair (which kicks off next weekend), Printed Matter is tomorrow night celebrating the ongoing influence of the East Village Eye with a special back issue sell-off that will see rare original copies of the magazine go back on sale to the public.

Let’s take a minute to reflect on just how influential these archival issues have been: during the 1980s, New York was a breeding ground for art, music and film and The Eye paralleled the raucous cultures and subcultures of the time. Punk, disco, new wave and hip hop were vibrating through the neighbourhood, offering up a soundtrack to the political and social movements that would ultimately shape the decade. It was during this time that New Wave began to shape the New York underground scene, names such as Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, Amos Poe, Jim Jarmusch and Alan Vega were all carving a progressive identity in this iconic Post-Punk era.

Often credited as the origin of the ever-thriving East Village art scene, the magazine documented the social change that was exploding throughout the city. In fact, many artists moved to New York after read about the burgeoning art scene within the pages of the Eye in search for creative freedom. Championing young talent, one of the Eye’s claims to fame is that it was the first publication ever to print the immortal phrase ‘Hip Hop’, running stories on Hip Hop pioneers such as Afrikaa Bambaataa, Run DMC and Futura 2000.

Which brings us to the second component of tomorrow night’s event, a mini-symposium – How Hip Hop Came Downtown. The talk will cover the emergence of rap music, graffiti art and breakdancing, from the inner-city ghettos to a global audience. Legendary Eye editor Leonard Abrams will be leading the discussion alongside scholar Yazmin Ramirez, musician and multimedia artist Michael Holman, and hip hop trailblazer Fab 5 Freddy.

This is a pretty rare opportunity to get your hands on a piece of NY street culture history and feed your brain in the process. Did we mention entry is completely free? Go on then.

Printed Matter’s East Village Eye – Back Issue Sell Off and Mini-Symposium, Thursday 18th September 6-8pm at Printed Matter, 195 Tenth Avenue New York, NY 10011. Admission is free but space is limited so get in early to avoid missing out