Photo by Mark Harvey
Regarded as the definitive voice of subculture and proud champions of art and curation, Beyond the Streets have cemented their reputation as global specialists. Programming globally across Los Angeles, New York, London, and Shanghai, Beyond the Streets have evolved from art collective to thriving movement, revered for their immersive exhibitions and their emphasis on art as both resistance and narrative.
Further building their programming slate, Beyond the Streets has announced a meticulously curated retrospective exhibition, exploring the subversive art, gamechanging music and DIY ethos of the Scumdogs of the Universe in GWAR. LET THERE BE GWAR is set to open in Los Angeles on September 13th and will extend through November 2nd.
The comprehensive retrospective exhibition boast the most complete collect of GWAR artifacts ever assembled. The gallery will transform entirely into the universe created by GWAR over the span of the last forty years featuring handcrafted costumes, instruments, weaponry, and stage props, as well as video installations, monumental set pieces, spew tanks, a monster toilet, artwork, and rare Easter eggs intended to connect with GWAR diehards.
Framing the social significance and the lasting legacy of GWAR, the exhibition begins by recounting GWAR's origin story as group of RIchmond punk musicians and visual artists who first began in an abandoned dairy. From their humble start in 1984, the ever-evolving entity has since become a generational pillar of heavy music and absurdist theater dirven by a unique DIY DNA that still defines the band in the modern day.
GWAR shared, “For 40 years, GWAR have mounted a misanthropic critique of American culture dressed up as shock rock. This collection of artifacts offers a sense of the unique punk-inspired anti-art aesthetics of underground comics, science fiction fandom, role-playing games, and satirical splatter flick nerdishness at the heart of the band.”
LET THERE BE GWAR curator Roger Gastman also weighed in, “This isn’t just a music exhibition. GWAR represents one of the most successful long-term art collectives in American culture, and their influence on both underground and mainstream entertainment is undeniable. They came to destroy... and ended up creating something eternal.”
Paired with the launch of the exhibition, BEYOND THE STREETS and GWAR will release a co-branded collection. Anchoring the collection will be a new expanded version of the sold-out 400-page book – 'LET THERE BE GWAR' which comes with a limited edition 7” record, a collection book of GWAR's classic Mind Control Monthly newsletters, exclusive apparel, limited edition prints and more.
The public opening reception for LET THERE BE GWAR will take place on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14, 2025 from 11AM to 6PM with appearances by members of GWAR! The show will be on view through November 2nd. Beyond the Streets is located at 434 N La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA. Get additional info - HERE
