After first capturing Syracuse’s skate scene in the 1990s, William Strobeck now travels internationally to make videos and images that transcend skating’s mere physical gymnastics. His work stands out for its beauty, emotional nuance, and psychological introspection.

For DEAD END., Strobeck was invited to curate an exhibition that spoke to the Everson’s history as a hospitable venue for skateboarding, which the museum has always considered a creative enterprise. Strobeck’s exhibition, while including a few of his own works, focuses on the artists and events that indelibly shaped him as a burgeoning artist. Strobeck’s vision is fundamentally about youth and its uncertainties, boundaries, possibilities, and essential limitlessness. In unguarded and casual images, these subjects point to skate culture’s influence on the popular culture of today—handheld skate videos are today’s TikTok and Instagram reels, while the microcultures of Substack, Reddit, and Tumblr echo the DIY skatezines of the past.