BLANKMAG

Across from the Museum at Eldridge Street and near the Chinatown Vintage Mall, BLANKMAG Books keeps a low profile. A multicolored glass awning catches the light above ground, shifting tone across the day. A small sign by Jim Joe reads “books and souvenirs.” It’s an understatement, only clear once you’ve walked inside its basement space.

BLANKMAG is a tightly edited archive of New York street culture from the 1990s to early 2000s, all documents of a pre-Instagram time when people were outside, making, and shaping scenes. Photographs, rare art books, vintage magazines, t-shirts, stickers, and zines are layered up but never feel crowded.

The vibe conjures the raw, kinetic energy of skate culture in Kids — Larry Clark and Harmony Korine's 1995 film about downtown NYC youth — and Know Wave, the streetwear brand that started as a pirate radio station and creative gathering point in and around Canal Street.

Rotating exhibits and pop-ups give the archive a current slant — all held together by the sharp, curatorial eye of Jun Ohki, also known as Kato Browne.

BLANKMAG Books was dreamt up in Japan in 2012 by an anonymous collector embedded in print and street culture. Known for pop-ups at Dover Street Market Ginza, the project quietly built a following before opening its permanent NY location on Eldridge Street in March 2025. The space is now run by artist and filmmaker Jun Ohki, also known as Kato Browne, with a mission to preserve and evolve the visual language of street culture through prints, objects, and community programming.