A photo of Lenny Kravitz from 1989 by Julie Kramer (Photo credit: Julie Kramer / Courtesy East End Arts)

Nirvana, Queen Latifah, Weezer, Tupac, Bjork, Lil ‘Kim – check out these icons of grunge, hip-hop and alternative music like you’ve never seen them before on “Mix Tape: Ultimate 90s Visual Playlist” at Riverhead’s East End Arts (133 Main Street). Curated by gallery owner Wendy Weiss, the exhibition features rare and unseen photographs of Julie Kramer, a former Boston radio DJ who spun 90s progressive rock, and Ernie Paniccioli, a rock & roll music historian. Hall of Fame. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, September 25 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Kramer, who studied photography at U Mass Dartmouth, was a DJ for the Boston WFNX in the ’80s and’ 90s and photographed many up-and-coming artists who went on to become major stars including Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork, Mighty Les mighty Bosstones, Dinvynils and many more.

Originally from Brooklyn, Paniccioli began to focus his lens on graffiti art in the 1970s and “sucked into hip-hop culture,” Weiss said. Affectionately known as Brother Ernie, Paniccioli documented the entire history of hip-hop in two books he authored and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

“After closing [last year], we didn’t have a lot of programming, ”said Weiss, who has been working with East End Arts since the spring. “I wanted something fun and different as the restrictions were lifted.”

The stories behind the photographs are often as interesting as the subjects themselves, said Kramer who will present these behind-the-scenes tales through additional material and anecdotes shared by the artists.

You can meet Kramer at the opening reception. If you can’t make it, East End Arts Music Teacher Mark MK MK, an R&B artist who opened for John Legend and Flo Rida, will host a virtual talk with Kramer and Paniccioli on October 7th. His students will perform at the end of the gallery. reception on Saturday 13 November.

So what is the name of the exhibition?

“I realized it was a mix tape,” Weiss said, reflecting on the various genres, from punk to rap, captured on the show. “And what is a mix tape?” It was something that took hours to do and you were doing it for someone you loved, and it captured everything you loved [musically on a cassette tape]. “

In the tradition of live music, there is a first part. Louis Navas, multimedia artist, will present works inspired by famous album covers in an adjoining room.

For more information on East End Arts’ “Mix Tape” Click here.