Jacob Rosenberg’s EPICENTER appeared as a two-site installation across San Francisco between earlier this year, celebrating the crucial skateboarding history of Embarcadero Plaza (or EMB) and launching simultaneously with his monograph of the same name. For Paris Fashion Week, Rosenbergis now bringing the exhibition across the Atlantic, acknowledging Paris’ foundational role in skateboarding's global recognition and in his own early artistic practice.

Largely credited with defining modern street skating, EMB cultivated a legendary skateboarding community, with pioneers such as Jovontae Turner, Henry Sanchez, and Karl Watson. Rosenberg explains that Embarcadero Plaza “wasn’t just a skate spot — it was the backdrop for a sea change of cultural shifts and skateboard progression,” highlighting that while American magazines were slow to appreciate its significance, Paris-based No Way Magazine was not.

Rosenberg served as the french counterculture magazine's SF Correspondent in the 1990s, documenting the city’s vibrant, innovative skateboarding culture and gaining closer insight into EMB’s particular impact. Consequently, the exhibit’s presence in Paris holds special importance for Rosenberg, who was only 17 when No Way Magazine first published his work in 1991.

Beyond sentimentality, the exhibition carries critical weight, arriving amid San Francisco’s deconstruction of Embarcadero Plaza and removal of its beloved Vaillancourt Fountain. Featuring extensive archival photographs and visual recordings, Rosenberg’s exhibition allows EMB’s influence to transcend the physical space in which it materialized. 

ÉPICENTRE Paris will debut at Galerie Arquebusiers this month in partnership with adidas Skateboarding and supported by MOSAIC. The show will feature special programming for Fashion Week, positioning skateboarding within the broader cultural conversation around style and sports. The collaboration befits Adidas’ longstanding presence in skateboarding culture and aligns with the exhibition’s celebration of the sport’s formative years. Adam Brown, adidas Skateboarding’s Senior Director, emphasizes that “skateboarding has always been about authentic self-expression and community,” underlining the sport's relevance in the creative landscape and commending Rosenberg’s expertise at capturing this very essence.

Many of the iconic skaters from Rosenberg’s photographs and footage — including Mike Carroll, Chico Brenes, Rick Ibaseta, James Kelch, Sam Smyth, and Lee Smith — will be present in Paris for the opening events. An integral figure of modern street skating and one of the most widely renowned American professional skateboarders, Carroll reflects that “seeing Jacob’s photos and videos in this show reminds me how Embarcadero became a hub for progression and style,” appreciating how, in the absence of social media, Rosenberg’s work holds a special role in recording this era of skateboarding history. 

Honoring the plaza’s enduring memory and spirit as its material existence comes to an end, Rosenberg’s exhibition allows Embarcadero Plaza to be remembered in all its glory, as something closer to his own memory of the plaza:  “An ecosystem. A whole universe. A kingdom unto itself.”