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Co-organized by the
Saint Louis Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, “The Culture: Hip Hop
and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” examines the extraordinary impact of
hip hop on contemporary art. Titled after the phrase “for the culture,” this
exhibition advances a sweeping and contemporary account of the expansive
influence of hip-hop culture and its myriad expressions across the globe. “The
Culture” brings together poetry, music videos, fashion, painting, sculpture,
photography, and film by some of the most innovative cultural producers of the
last 20 years. The exhibition opened in St. Louis on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023,
and will continues through Jan. 1, 2024. (The exhibition was on view at the BMA
from March 26 through July 9, 2023).
The exhibition is
curated by Hannah Klemm, SLAM’s former associate curator of modern and
contemporary art; Andréa Purnell, SLAM’s audience development manager;
Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator and Interim
Co-Director; and Gamynne Guillotte, the BMA’s chief education officer; with
Rikki Byrd, the BMA’s curatorial research fellow, and Carlyn Thomas, the BMA’s
curatorial assistant.
I had the good fortune of catching Rikki Byrd at the onset of the SLAM exhibition that began on Saturday along with a Block Party on August 19, 2023 (shown above with her mother in front of a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting). I instantly wanted to share this extraordinary exhibit with students of Confluence Academies’ Old North Campus where I am art teacher to middle school scholars. Rikki lead a tour of eager visitors to the museum on this fun Saturday, The following week I was able to connect with SLAM’s learning and engagement department and get the ball rolling for a school field trip for maybe 20-25 scholars. I will be back with some students in October (but I will surely be back at the Saint Louis Art Museum before then).
Credits: The Culture advertising features an image drawn from Yvonne Osei video (Born Hamburg, Germany 1990), Real Nigus Don't Die: Thug 2013 by Fahamu Pecou (b NY 1975), Street Shrine 1: A Notorious Story (Biggie) 2019 Ceramic by Roberto Lugo (b Philadelphia1981), Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, 2022 oil and acrylic on fabric by Megan Lewis (b Baltimore 1989).
