NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2025 — An exhibition exploring Bob Dylan’s deep connection to political and social justice movements has opened in New York’s Greenwich Village, the very neighborhood where he lived and honed his craft in the 1960s, birthing songs that defined an era of civil rights and anti-war activism.
### Bob Dylan’s Protest Era Comes to Life in New York Exhibit
The exhibition “How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961–1964” delves into the intersection of protest and Dylan’s early songwriting.
- “How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961–1964” opens at NYU’s Gallatin Galleries.
- The exhibit features archival materials and documentary films examining Dylan’s response to 1960s events.
- It highlights Dylan’s songs addressing civil rights issues, including the killings of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers.
- The exhibition coincides with a guided walk through Greenwich Village’s Dylan-related landmarks.
Curator Mark Davidson stated the exhibition uses Dylan’s music as a lens to understand significant 20th-century events. “The early ’60s were a time of rapid change for America, and Dylan paced alongside, documenting,” Davidson said.
The exhibition, originating from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, showcases archival materials and nine new documentary films. These films explore the songwriter’s engagement with the turbulent times, spurred by the fight for desegregation, fair housing, voter registration, and anti-war sentiment. As Dylan himself noted in his 2004 memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, these compositions “didn’t come gently to the shore.”
A flyer promoting a 1963 Bob Dylan concert.
Dylan’s Soundtrack to a Tumultuous Decade
Dylan’s early songwriting captured the spirit of the times. Songs like “Paths of Victory” celebrated civil rights marchers, while “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” reflected on the nuclear threat. “Masters of War” directly criticized war profiteers.
Other poignant compositions addressed racially motivated killings, including those of Emmett Till, Hattie Carroll, and Medgar Evers. More universal in their themes, his enduring folk anthems like “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1962) and “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (1964) continue to resonate.
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.
The exhibition features footage from the 1963 voter registration drive in Greenwood, Mississippi, and the March on Washington, where Dylan performed with Joan Baez. It also includes materials from the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, marking Dylan’s notable first appearance there.
Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival on July 28, 1963.
The exhibition also highlights fellow musicians from Dylan’s early career, including Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, and Len Chandler, alongside publications that focused on topical songs and the protest movement, such as Broadsheet.
“The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s is an important part of our national consciousness,” Davidson noted. “We have a unique ability to talk about that story through the songs that Dylan was inspired to write during those years.”
A flyer for Bob Dylan’s 1961 concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall.
This formative period of Dylan’s career was recently depicted in the 2024 film A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet. The movie dramatized Dylan’s immersion in New York’s folk scene and his subsequent evolution beyond the protest movement. Chalamet received a Golden Globe for his portrayal.
As part of New York University’s Arts and Impact initiative, the exhibition is complemented by a guided walk through Greenwich Village on September 20. Participants will explore significant locations in Dylan’s lore, including Great Jones Street, Washington Square Park, and the Chelsea Hotel, before ending at the Bitter End.
“How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961-1964” is on view at the Gallatin Galleries, 1 Washington Place, New York, from August 25 to October 15.
