‘The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture’ exhibit to debut at the Museum of Design Atlanta

You’ll be taking a step back into hip-hop history with this exhibit.

“Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture” will be making its debut at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) on Oct. 15.

The exhibit will explore hip-hop culture established by the Black and Latino youth of New York’s South Bronx neighborhood in the early 1970s. Hip-hop is not only a large part of music history but is culturally relevant as well. I can remember, growing up in New York, seeing how the music and the influencers of the time influenced the clothes people wore or even how someone wore their hair. Think of Run DMC and how they took the Adidas sweat suit to new heights. Hip-hop’s most notable means of expression—b-boying, deejaying, graffiti and emceeing—have been recognized all over the world and this new exhibit is going to pay homage to all of it.

The exhibition will include work by participants from across the globe. Museum-goers will see all kinds of projects, ranging across a variety of media and forms of expression. From experimental visualization formats and installation strategies to façade studies, building designs and urban development proposals. The wide range of expressions emphasizes the layers that there are to hip-hop and all the sectors that it has influenced.

Thanks to a series of influential essays, lectures and presentations by Craig Wilkins, Michael Ford and this show’s curator, Sekou Cooke, exhibits like this are now coming to life for the masses to see.

You can join MODA as they celebrate the opening of ‘The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture’ exhibit on Oct. 14 from 7–9 p.m. You’ll be able to enjoy the exhibit, listen to music, enjoy light refreshments and even chat with the show’s curator. There will also be a performance by Soul Food Cypher, an organization that uses freestyle rap and lyricism to transform individuals and communities.