Elementz, a nonprofit and hip-hop cultural arts center, is making moves to widen its impact and push forward its mission.
Currently located in a 1,100-square-foot facility in the University of Cincinnati’s Digital Futures building, Elementz is preparing to move into a new space at 3344 Central Parkway this summer. The new space is about 5,000 square feet, according to the nonprofit’s Executive Director Damian Hoskins.
Elementz is underpinned by the five “elements” of hip-hop: DJing, emceeing, breakdancing, graffiti and self-knowledge, Hoskins said. Bringing young people together by teaching them these art forms has been central to the organization’s purpose since its inception in 2002.
The organization was formed in response to the death of Timothy Thomas, who was shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer in 2001. The incident stirred days of civil unrest.
A group of community activists banded together to give young Black people an outlet for self-expression and a connection to their culture, Hoskins said.
“Young kids were always projecting the sense of fear, and so Elementz was a response to that, so that there can be a safe space that was created and cultivated and curated for the young people,” Hoskins said. “So, they leveraged hip-hop culture to be sort of catalytic in bringing those young people together.”
When Hoskins took over as executive director in 2021, he wanted to pivot Elementz’s trajectory to focus more on career readiness.
His vision for Elementz was to make it an organization that not just passed hip-hop culture on to future generations, but one that equips students with the tools and resources needed for a career in the arts. They dubbed this model the Creative Futures Initiative.
“We began to develop programming that added on top of those four basic programs that included things like lighting engineering, sound engineering, fashion design, speaker design, videography, photography,” the executive director said.
The move into the Central Parkway marks their entrance into a “forever home” and is an ideal place to continue this expansion, Hoskins said.
Nestled between Clifton, CUF and Camp Washington, the new building is centrally located and sits along a bus route, which Hoskins says will improve its accessibility to students.
The increased space in the new location will allow Elementz to hold more on-site programming and to invite audiences and community partners to see the work they do, Hoskins said. Currently, Elementz primarily travels to schools and other community centers to hold classes.
Hoskins expects Elementz to be moved into the new facility around late July and for programming to start around the same time as the school year starts in the fall.
De’Ariss Hope, the nonprofit’s creative content creator, thinks the new space will heighten creativity and foster a stronger community.
“There’s a plethora of talent within these schools, and being able to witness, you know, I’m like ‘wow.’ You can’t help but to be inspired by it,” Hope said. “That’s also one of the reasons I’m so excited to move into the new center, is so we can have a hub for the community.”
Elementz currently serves about 2,400 kids and partners with 16 schools, according to its website.
Hoskins hopes to boost that number to about 3,000 kids over the next year, he said. Part of making that happen is expanding across the river into Northern Kentucky, a project they’re calling Elementz South. The timeline for that expansion is still a work in progress.
Elementz already partners with Covington Independent Schools to bring programming to its students, but Hoskins would like to provide Kentucky students with a space close to home to engage with the arts, he said.
Upcoming documentary looks at Elementz’s past
While Elementz is making efforts to step into its future, it’s also revisiting its past and the moments that shaped it.
Hope, with the help of many others involved with the organization, has been directing a feature-length documentary about Elementz’s founding and history.
The film, titled “Or Does It Explode,” is set to premier Aug. 30 at a fundraising event. It’s a fashion-forward event with a “black tie” and “cool sneakers” dress code, according to the Elementz website.
The film is a commentary on hip-hop culture that explores its true nature, dispels the notion that hip-hop is strictly a music genre and examines the state of hip-hop in Cincinnati, Hope said.
Hope describes hip-hop as a “tool of construction or destruction.” He wants the film to show people that Elementz wields the influence of hip-hop to do good.
“It’s a matter of how are we going to use it, and I just think that Elementz is definitely pointed toward the healing trajectory,” Hope said.
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