Steven John Irby (A.K.A. Steve Sweatpants) is an artist cut directly from the cloth of Brooklyn and Queens. Photographer, creative consultant, and aspiring director, Irby is an artist of the people, dissolving the arbitrary division between low brow and high brow. His stunning black and white photographs invoke the spirit of Henri Cartier-Bresson but with a modern twist. As a result, Irby has been called the 21st century heir of The Decisive Moment. To experience Irby’s work is to catch the name of God as in a dream—fleeting, dazzling, genuflecting. Irby proves art need not be opaque. It need only ask the right questions. For Irby, it is, “Which moments are worth stopping time for?” There are many answers, of course. His work answers with unflinching fortitude, “Any moment in which the unbreakable power of the Black experience announces itself”—the worthiness of every single Black moment, no matter how mundane. If you would mourn the loss of Black life, you damn well better celebrate a Black smile, a rowdy porch playing dominos, and a flawless cross-up at the local basketball court. Irby is the co-founder & director of Street Dreams magazine and an artist of many disciplines. He has provided work for Sony, Nike, Cartier, The New Yorker, and more. He was honored by the city of New York in 2020 for his efforts in the arts and his local community.

FEATURED IN

New Yorker – “Protesting Past Curfew in New York City”

Digital Photo Pro – “How Photojournalists Are Documenting The George Floyd Protests”

GQ – “Why Violent Protests Work”

Vanity Fair – “IN PHOTOS: PROTEST AND RAGE IN AMERICA’S CITIES”

ID Vice – “Steven John Irby photographie les new-yorkais bravant la pandémie pour manifester dans la rue.”

Fox 5 – “Queens photographer’s 1-month dream gig with the Knicks”

High Snobiety – “PRADA BLACK TAPS PHOTOGRAPHER STEVEN IRBY TO CAPTURE NEW YORK CITY FROM THE SKIES”

Yahoo – “Just the beginning’: A photographer’s dispatch from the heart of America’s galvanized civil rights movement”

Shoot Online – “Bunker Signs Renown Image Maker, Steve “Sweatpants” Irby For Commercial Projects”

Samsung – “Photographer Steven “Sweatpants” Irby shows how the new Galaxy Note20 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S7, Galaxy Watch3, and Galaxy Buds Live redefine the power of work and play”

Digital Photo Mag – “10 Questions With Steven John Irby”

Adorama – “A Photographer’s Guide to Governor’s Ball: Steve ‘Sweatpants’ Irby Takes on NYC’s Biggest Music Festival”

Adorama (2) – “Through The Lens: CUBA”

The Observers – “YOU INSPIRE US, WHO INSPIRES YOU?”

Peta Pixel – “Watch a Photographer Shoot 7 Urban Portraits in a 24hr Photo Challenge”

Hypebeast – “Street Shots’ With Steve Sweatpants of ‘Street Dreams’ Magazine”

HypeBeast (2) – “Jeff Staple 1-2-1 With Steve Sweatpants”

Moab Paper – “MOAB MASTERS”

New York Times – “Street Dreams Magazine Flips the Script, Bringing Instagram to Print”

Complex – “How Getting Fired Gave Steve Sweatpants the Career He Really Wanted”

Alpha Universe – “Havana Light”

Alpha Universe (2) – “Why I Take Pictures”

NBA – “Celebrating Black History”

Forbes – “Authenticity During Black History Month – Some Brands Make The Mark, While Others Criticized In Digital Backlash”

Forbes (2) – “Black Creatives Take ‘Supremacy’ Brand Campaign To The Streets, Deconstructing Racism Offline”

Washington Post – “Four police officers shot Amadou Diallo 19 times. A new photography project names them.”

Juxtapoz – “Winter 2021 Quarterly #216”

Juxtapoz (2) – “Back to Basics and the Year of the Protest Photo”

Leap Action – “41 TO ’99 A Photo Essay”

Garage – “On Photos of the Revolution, the Streets Talk”

New York Mag – “New York Was Celebrating Together Today’ I can’t wait to go back outside.”

Mr. Porter – “The World In Focus: Five Black American Photographers On Capturing The Here And Now”

Air Jordan – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, OBI”

Bunkerwork – “DIRECTOR: STEVE SWEATPANTS”

I-D – “Meet Joe Holder, fashion’s favourite coach”

NASDAQ – “ The New York Knicks and Squarespace Announce Fourth Annual Make It Awards”

NASDAQ(2) – “Nasdaq Pledges Continued Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion”

Alumni – “Alumni of NY”

Artsy – “As Chelsea Reopens, a New Exhibition Looks at the Experience of Living in a Black Body”

Astro Gaming – “Black Lives Matter x #ASTROfamily”

Creative Live – “Tips for Capturing Peaceful Protests with Street Photographer Steve Sweatpants”

Vulture – “Ricky Powell Was the Eyes of New York City”

St. Ann’s Warehouse: – “St. Ann’s Warehouse Presents Supremacy: Who Protects Me From You”

Surface Magazine – Supremacy Project

Duggal – “NEW YORK CITY HIP HOP | THE PHOTO TRIBUTE


Issue Wire – “Iconic Photographers Exhibiting In Photo Tribute to NYC Hip Hop- Ft. Jonathan Mannion and Danny Clinch”

The 2020 New York Emmy® Award Nominees – MSG Networks’ Through The Lens 

Knicks Fan Tv – “Steve “Sweatpants” On His Favorite Knicks Stories, Pursuing Your Passion & Chasing Immortality”

Black Voice News – “The Street Dreams Of Steve Sweatpants”

HIGH SNOBIETY (2) – “STEVE IRBY AND ANTWAUN SARGENT FACE OFF IN A GAME OF “BOUTIQUE OR GALLERY”

Creators Network – “How Steve Sweatpants Captured 2020 from the Frontlines of NYC Streets”

Studio 525 – “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF STEVE SWEATPANTS”

New York Times(2) – “The Joys of Biking at Night”

Sony -‘Celebrating The Wins’ Gallery & Residency To Feature Work From The Alpha Collective

Seaport District – ‘Celebrating The Wins’

Good Morning America – ‘Ava DuVernay talks about the Law Enforcement Accountability Project’

New Yorker – ‘His Name in Vain One year later, America is struggling to reform and reimagine the agencies that have been licensed to kill us.’

Complex – ‘Arvin Goods x Steve Sweatpants’

CoinTelegraph – ‘NFT marketplace Metaplex hires former Google dev as CEO, appoints advisory board’

The Block Crypto – ‘Solana-based NFT platform Metaplex Studios names new CEO and advisory board’

Ad Age – ‘HOW TO TURN AN NFT INTO AN EXPERIENCE’

Phillips – ‘Phillips x House of Crowns’

Variety – ‘Everything’s Gonna Be All White,’ ‘Uprooted’ Filmmakers Struggled to Get Funding. Then George Floyd Died

Hamptons – Explore Photographer Gordon Park’s Influence on Photography

Fox 5 – DC photo exhibit celebrates fatherhood

GW Today – In Photos: Black Photographers on Black Fatherhood

Museum of the City of NY – We’re proud to announce the acquisition of @SteveSweatpants

The Seaport – CELEBRATES THE WINS WITH STREET DREAMS MAGAZINE

All Ships – INTERVIEW: STEVEN JOHN IRBY

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