Steve Lazarides is a British photographer, curator, publisher and cultural entrepreneur best known for helping shape the global rise of urban contemporary art. Emerging from the underground creative landscape of Bristol and London during the late 1980s and 1990s, Lazarides became one of the defining figures behind the transition of street art from subculture into the international contemporary art market.

Widely recognised for his longstanding collaboration with Banksy, Lazarides played a pivotal role in the development of Pictures on Walls, the influential print publisher and gallery platform that introduced a new generation of collectors to urban art. Beyond publishing and artist management, he became instrumental in creating an entirely new ecosystem around street culture, limited editions, immersive exhibitions and artist-led storytelling.

Over the years, Lazarides has worked with and exhibited an extraordinary range of internationally acclaimed artists including Invader, JR, Vhils, Conor Harrington, Antony Micallef, Stanley Donwood, Todd James, Ian Francis, Lucy McLauchlan and Jonathan Yeo, among many others. His exhibitions became renowned for breaking away from the traditional white-cube gallery model, often transforming abandoned or underground spaces into cinematic and immersive environments.

Among the most legendary of these projects were the large-scale exhibitions staged in the Old Vic Tunnels in London, including Minotaur, Hell’s Half Acre and Bedlam. Combining contemporary art, performance, sound, architecture and gastronomy, these exhibitions redefined the possibilities of experiential art during a formative moment in the London art scene.

Alongside his curatorial work, Lazarides has built a highly respected photographic archive documenting the rise of contemporary street art from within. His photographs — many capturing intimate and historically significant moments surrounding Banksy and the wider urban art movement — have become important cultural documents in their own right.

Today, Steve Lazarides continues to work across photography, publishing, exhibitions and cultural projects, remaining one of the most influential and distinctive voices connected to the evolution of contemporary urban art.