Approximately 150 flyers, zines, documents, artwork, and photographs tracing the history of hardcore punk through its 1980s network of bands, venues, record labels, radio stations, and underground publications that linked hyper-local scenes throughout the United States and internationally to form a broader subculture.

Material in this collection roughly describes the emergence of the downtown New York art world of the 1970s and 1980s through Ahearn's/Dickson's participation in the artist's groups Collaborative Projects (Colab) and Fashion Moda, as well as their involvement in three highly influential art exhibitions in the latter half of the 20th Century: the Real Estate Show (1980), the Times Square Show (1980), and the "Messages to the Public" series (1982).

This collection from a West Coast club promoter offers a glimpse of punk and new wave influenced music, art, film, and underground culture in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s and early 1980s.