FIVE GOOD REASONS TO VIEW THE CULTURE IN THE SCHIRN

From feburary 29, the SCHIRN presents an interdisciplinary exhibition on the influence of hip hop on contemporary art and culture. It's worth a visit for these five reasons.

1. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GERMANY: HIP HOP IN ART

“THE CULTURE” illuminates hip hop’s unprecedented economic, social, and cultural resources that have made hip hop a global phenomenon and established it as the artistic canon of our time. The exhibition furthermore addresses contemporary issues and debates—from identity, racism, and appropriation to sexuality, feminism, and empowerment. Sebastian Baden, director of the SCHIRN, says:

“Hip hop is a socially formative and influential cultural movement. The SCHIRN is presenting ‘THE CULTURE’ for the first time in Germany in an artistic exhibition context. In collaboration with our international partners, we show the immense influence that hip hop has had on contemporary art and pop culture in the past twenty years. With an extensive accompanying program, the SCHIRN additionally features the local hip hop scene—both its connections and its differences to US history, as well as contemporary debates around empowerment and identity.”

Hank Willis Thomas, Black Power, 2006, Chromogenic printing, 40,6 × 50,8 cm, Barret Barrera Projects, © Hank Willis Thomas

2. fashion pieces by Virgil Abloh, Pharrel Williams, Lil Kim and Travis Scott

In six themed sections, the exhibition presents artworks in dynamic dialogue with fashion and historical ephemera. Among the fashion highlights are looks from Virgil Abloh’s collections for Louis Vuitton, legendary streetwear brand Cross Colours, and Dapper Dan’s collaboration with Gucci. And that's not all, a Vivienne Westwood Buffalo Hat (1984), made famous by Pharrell Williams at the 2014 Grammy Awards, and several of Lil' Kim's iconic wigs, recreated by original hair stylist Dionne Alexander, as well as Air Jordans by Travis Scott are on display.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America/Getty Images for NARAS, Image via edition.cnn.com

3. A new canon of contemporary art

Hip hop has established itself as the artistic canon of our time, as curators Asma Naeem (Baltimore Art Museum, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director) and Gamynne Guillotte (former Chief Education Officer), Hannah Klemm (former Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Saint Louis Art Museum) and Andréa Purnell (Community Collaborations Manager) say about the exhibition:

“Hip hop’s influence on culture is so significant that it has become the new canon—an alternate set of ideals of artistic beauty and excellence centered around Afro-Latinx identities and histories—and one that rivals the Western art historical canon around which many museums orient and develop exhibitions. The exhibition ‘THE CULTURE’ shows that many of the most compelling visual artists working today are directly engaging with central tenets of this canon in their practices. Across such vastly disparate fields as painting, performance, fashion, architecture, and computer programming, the visual culture of hip hop, along with its subversive tactics and its tackling of social justice, surface everywhere in the art of today.”

Hassan Hajjaj, Cardi B Unity. 2017/1438 (Gregorian/Hijri), from the series My Rockstars, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

4. THE VOICES

Nine protagonists from the regional hip hop scene express their thoughts on themes and works of the THE CULTURE in personal statements. THE VOICES is a project which provides a further level of context inside the exhibition.The audio statements are distributed throughout the exhibition rooms and can be accessed on your own smartphone via QR codes. With voices by Justus 'COR' Becker, Aisha Camara, Edwin Batalla Cardozo aka. Batalla CL, Steffen Kurtz, LIZ, Philipp A. Schäfer (The City Ghost), Sabrina Setlur, Be Shoo and Gianni Suave.

5. Hip hop culture meets feminism

In the extensive supporting program for the exhibition, several events will focus on the influence of women in hip hop culture: In the event and podcast series FEEDBACK, moderator Miriam Davoudvandi will talk to female personalities from the German hip hop and rap scene on 5 March and 7 May - including Cora E. and OG LU as well as Sabrina Setlur. On March 8, hosts Aisha Camara and Be Shoo will present well-known music videos by feminist icons of the female hip hop community in the event format POPCORN & RHYMES and discuss how women can take up more space in hip hop. And in the three-part event series WORDCUP RELOADED, which takes place from May 17-19, protagonists from the hip hop scene will come together in a live re-enactment based on the former hip hop TV format "Word Cup". Together with presenter Tyron Ricketts, they will take a look into the future in the final episode on May 19 and discuss how much hip hop there actually is in a queer-feminist utopia.