Photography Exhibition, Fotografisca, New York, January 26, 2023 – May 21, 2023

We had the pleasure of visiting the museum and viewing this groundbreaking exhibit last week. The museum alone was a fun, enlightening experience. Rather than the stuffy, quiet, almost sterile environment one comes to expect at a museum, Fotografisca is warm, inviting, and bustling with activity. They encourage you to grab a drink while you view the exhibition. So, that’s what we did.

The exhibition, featuring many rare works of over 50 artists spans the history of hip hop and the culture. Ranging from iconic staples of visual culture (presented with new context) to rare and intimate portraits of hip-hop’s biggest stars, the works on view traverse intersecting themes such as the role of women in hip-hop; hip-hop’s regional and stylistic diversification and rivalries; a humanistic lens into the 1970s-Bronx street gangs whose members contributed to the birth of hip-hop; and the mainstream breakthrough that saw a grassroots movement become a global phenomenon

“It’s easy to forget that there was a time before hip-hop was an industry and before it made money,” said Sacha Jenkins, exhibition co-curator and Chief Creative Officer of Mass Appeal, who came of age in New York’s hip-hop scene of the 1980s (b. 1971). “It wasn’t conscious of itself. It was just existing with young people living their lives, dressing as they did, trying to entertain themselves with limited resources and creating an aesthetic that registered amongst themselves. It wasn’t for the world; it was for a very specific community. Then there was an exponentially paced transition where hip-hop culture became a conscious of itself as an incredibly lucrative global export. The exhibition’s lifeblood is the period before hip-hop knew what it was.”

The exhibition brings audiences through five decades of history, culminating in recent imagery of the biggest names working in hip-hop today. The show, which features archival ephemera to augment the contextualization of its photography, is principally laid out by chronology and geography. Focus areas include but are not limited to the early years, East Coast, West Coast, the South, and the newer wave of artists who have emerged since the mid-aughts.

Whether you’re a hip hop fan or not, this show is worth a visit to the museum. Artistically, the depth and scope of the work is amazing. From classic snaps in the NYC subway to the shots on the streets across the big apple, the exhibition will bring you back to memories of another day- the music, fashion, culture, vibe.

Congratulations to the museum, the curators Sacha Jenkins and Sally Berman and all of the participating artists.

*ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF FOTOGRAFISKA NEW YORK AND COPYRIGHT OF THE ARTIST *EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE BY MOLLY KRAUSE.