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The LAND BACK wall in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

An open-air gallery — no admission fees, no white walls

gRaffiti cRawL in the d.T.E.S

by SaZ-C

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UNCURATeD hardcover book mockup by SaZ-C
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01

About the Book

UNCURATeD — gRaffiti cRawL in the d.T.E.S · a photography book by SaZ-C

UNCURATeD book front cover — teal graffiti with lime spine
UNCURATeD book back cover with About The Book and About The Author

The walls of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside don't just hold up buildings — they hold a community's history. To the outsider, these alleyways are spaces to be bypassed. To resident artist, photographer, and writer SaZ-C, they form the genesis of the city's most honest cultural institution: an elite-free, outdoor gallery where art as a survival tool is everywhere you look.

Spanning seven powerful chapters, this edition captures the fleeting, brilliant collision of Indigenous sovereignty, grassroots activism, and visceral graffiti eloquence. From the historic brickwork of a changing neighbourhood to frontline visual battles over Indigenous rights (DRIPA), these pages document a living archive of resistance before it is replaced or scoured away forever.

Featuring dedicated chapters on local legends — including the monumental memorial work of Smokey D and the powerhouse collaboration of AshTrey Alley — this is more than a photography book. It is a wholehearted salute to the undaunted essence of a community that refuses to be silenced.

This is the D.T.E.S., UNCeNSOReD.

  • 00 Powerful Chapters
  • 0 Pages of Walls
  • 0 Artists on Record
  • 00 Unfiltered d.T.E.S
Get a Book Every wall has a story. Bring it home.

Seven Chapters. One Crawl.

A journey from heritage brickwork to the six-storeys-high battle cry of the 'Land Back' wall.

01

The Backdrop: Heritage, Reclaimed

Century-old facades, civic brickwork and the living history carved into Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood.

02

WELCOME to the ANTi-FASCiST NEiGHBOURHOOD

Graffiti as the hood's immune system — a boundary marker against displacement and erasure.

03

NightFall: GeN3sis of the Crawl

A fateful midnight art crawl where fresh aerosol acquires an almost supernatural quality.

04

AshTrey Alley: Heartbeat of the Blocks

Trey Helten's legacy — the city's first legal graffiti wall and a sanctuary of mentorship and mutual aid.

05

Chef d'Oeuvre: The 'Land Back' Wall

Six storeys of masonry screaming a permanent truth: Indigenous rights are non-negotiable.

06

Smokey D: Keys to The City

The self-proclaimed devil who won over City Council and turned outlaw craft into sanctioned heritage.

07

Domani: Beauty in Broad Daylight

Tomorrow is a victory won every day — the hood's creativity illuminated by the morning sun.

02

About the Author

Resident artist, photographer & writer of the Downtown Eastside

A laneway wall in the Downtown Eastside layered with paint
Somewhere in the alleys of the d.T.E.S

SaZ-C (SaRah MaRgueRiTe ChesTeRman)

  • Community Activist
  • Writer
  • Artist
  • Photographer

Vancouver-born and raised, SaZ-C grew up with deep roots in the local landscape — shaped early on during her time at Southlands Elementary School, where she learned alongside and formed lasting bonds with members of the Musqueam Nation. That initial connection instilled a lifelong respect for Indigenous independence and community-led storytelling.

Today, as a resident artist, SaZ uses her camera and her pen as tools of resistance and solidarity. UNCURATeD is a culmination of her lived experience on these streets — a deliberate, protective effort to honour the neighbourhood's collective creative pulse.

“For the writers, the rebels, the street historians of the Downtown Eastside — and the artists who paint the truth.”

— from the dedication of UNCURATeD
See Her Highlights Get in Touch
03

Our Highlights

Frames from the crawl — straight from the pages of UNCURATeD, shot in the alleys of the d.T.E.S

LAND BACK mural across a wall dense with graffiti tags
Ch.05The 'Land Back' Wall
Colourful graffiti wall reading Every Thing's Cool
d.T.E.S"EVERY THiNG'S COOL"
Graffiti throw-up with a skull surrounded by teal and pink pieces
Ch.04Fresh Coats, Old Ghosts
A laneway pillar painted with a pink one-eyed character
Ch.03Layers of the Lane
Green-toned graffiti pieces stacked on a dark wall
Ch.03Night Greens
BiG MOLES rainbow burner and other colourful throw-ups
d.T.E.SRainbow Burners
A wall packed edge to edge with graffiti tags and characters
Ch.04Roll Call of the Writers
Close-up of overlapping graffiti tags in blue, pink and yellow
d.T.E.SCrew Colours
The full LAND BACK wall under a blue sky, cars parked along the street
Ch.05Six Storeys of Defiance
The full crawl lives on paper. Get a Book
04

Our Reviews

What readers are saying after taking the crawl

★★★★★

"I've walked these alleys for twenty years — this is the first book that makes you actually feel them. Urgent, beautiful, unfiltered."

Local d.T.E.S Artist
★★★★★

"A living archive before the bulldozers arrive. Every page pulses with the neighbourhood's defiant heart."

Eastside Culture Crawl Visitor
★★★★★

"The 'Land Back' chapter alone is worth it. Six storeys of courage, captured before the city could look away."

Community Organizer
★★★★★

"SaZ-C photographs like someone who lives it — because she does. This is street history written from the inside."

Vancouver Photographer
★★★★★

"Raw, political, and full of love. The walls really do talk — and this book listens."

Reader, Main Street
★★★★★

"Part photography book, part act of resistance. I couldn't put it down."

Indie Book Reviewer

The Creators — recorded here by street tag, name, or crew

Anek · AshTrey (Trey Helten) · Bagua Artist Association · Banshe · BEAMS · Beds · Big Miles · Cew2 · Copy · Crop · CRums · Dbp · Dmac · Doom · EAST VANDALS · ELVO · eTceTeRa · Fario · FC2 · Free At Last · Gore · Gramstick · grog · Gurl23 · HAL · HEPH · HOBO · HOSER · Keavs · LUTR · MAYK · Myst · Naste · PHASE · Presh · Rso · Sizzle · SLump · Smokey D (Jamie Hardy) · SOBe · Spok · STARS · SUGAR · Uzn · Vespa · Yams · ZOYER ·  Anek · AshTrey (Trey Helten) · Bagua Artist Association · Banshe · BEAMS · Beds · Big Miles · Cew2 · Copy · Crop · CRums · Dbp · Dmac · Doom · EAST VANDALS · ELVO · eTceTeRa · Fario · FC2 · Free At Last · Gore · Gramstick · grog · Gurl23 · HAL · HEPH · HOBO · HOSER · Keavs · LUTR · MAYK · Myst · Naste · PHASE · Presh · Rso · Sizzle · SLump · Smokey D (Jamie Hardy) · SOBe · Spok · STARS · SUGAR · Uzn · Vespa · Yams · ZOYER · 
05

Contact Us

Press, bookings, crawl collaborations — or just to talk walls. Drop a line.

Let's paint
something together.

Whether you're a writer, a reader, a gallery, or a neighbour with a story — the walls are always listening. Reach out and keep the d.T.E.S talking.

TAKE THE CRAWL.

Every wall has a story. Bring the neighbourhood home.

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