Egyptian street artist Bahia Shehab began taking to the streets using lines from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish during the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Since then, she has taken her peaceful resistance to the streets of the world, from New York to Tokyo, Amsterdam to Honolulu. This exhibition catalogue documents not only Shehab's striking artwork itself, but also the stories of the people she meets along the way, and her observations from the streets of each new city she visits. It is her artists manifesto, a cry for freedom and dignity, and a call to never stop dreaming.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, young people in New York City radically altered the tradition of writing their initials on neighborhood walls. Influenced by the widespread use of famous names on billboards, in neon, in magazines, newspapers, and typographies from advertising and comics, city youth created a new form of expression built around elaborately designed names and initials displayed on public walls, vehicles, and subways. Critics called it "graffiti," but to the practitioners it was "writing."

"Taking the Train" traces the history of "writing" in New York City against the backdrop of the struggle that developed between the city and the writers. Austin tracks the ways in which "writing" -- a small, seemingly insignificant act of youthful rebellion -- assumed crisis-level importance inside the bureaucracy and the public relations of New York City mayoral administrations and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for almost two decades. "Taking the Train" reveals why a global city short on funds made "wiping out graffiti" an expensive priority while other needs went unfunded. Although the city eventually took back the trains, Austin eloquently shows how and why the culture of "writing" survived to become an international art movement and a vital part of hip-hop culture.

The second book in a burgeoning series of graffiti and street art documentation by photographer, Jacqueline Hadel. This book focuses on L.A. street art during the Summer of 2013.