The Culture hip-hop exhibit, with work from 65 artists, stops at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto from December 4th to April 6th, 2025.
December 4th marked the official opening of The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum for the 50th anniversary celebration hip-hop in 2023, The Culture will be making its only Canadian stop in Toronto.
According to the AGO, “Highlighting hip hop’s ongoing conceptual and material innovation, the exhibition features fashion, consumer marketing, music, videos and objects in dialogue with paintings, sculpture, poetry, photography and multi-media installations from Toronto and around the world.”
While hip-hop was founded on the elements of MCing, DJing, B-Boying, Graffiti, and later Knowledge, the culture has expanded to encompass fashion, photography, videography, and visual art which are all represented in this exhibit. It includes pieces from 65 artists, including Stan Douglas, John Edmonds, Deana Lawson, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Just like in the culture, women have played a prominent role in bringing this exhibit to life. It was curated by Asma Naeem, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art; Gamynne Guillotte, former Chief Education Officer at the Baltimore Museum of Art; Andréa Purnell, Audience Development Manager at the Saint Louis Art Museum; and Hannah Klemm, former Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Meanwhile, Julie Crooks, the AGO’s Curator, Arts of Global Africa & the Diaspora organized the Toronto
“No conversation about hip hop would be complete without recognizing the many contributions made by Canadian artists. In bringing this exhibition to Toronto, we have an exciting opportunity to affirm our place in the global conversation about it,” said Crooks. “The artworks on view here are as multifaceted as hip hop itself and in their conceptual and material innovations, reveal hip hop as a wellspring that has and continues to challenge Eurocentric ideals of beauty and power.”
It was Crooks who decided that the AGO stop needed to have contributions from local artists and the Toronto hip-hop scene. She formed a small advisory group which led to pieces like Drake’s Nothing Was The Same cover art, a portrait of Michie Mee, and a Too Black Guys jersey being put on display.
Hip-hop heads and art lovers have until April 6, 2025 to check it out. Visit ago.ca for more information.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 300 international voters for the 81st and 82nd Golden Globe Awards by the Golden Globe Foundation and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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