The Culture:
Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century

June 28–September 29, 2024

Western & Southern Galleries (Galleries 232 and 233)
Press Release

In the wake of hip hop’s 50th anniversary, the Cincinnati Art Museum is hosting a groundbreaking exhibition exploring the genre’s extraordinary influence on contemporary society over the past two decades.

The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century showcases more than 100 works of art by some of today’s most important and celebrated artists—such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roberto Lugo, Carrie Mae Weems, William Cordova, Hassan Hajjaj, Hank Willis Thomas—and fashion brands, with looks from Cross Colours and Vivienne Westwood. A range of music ephemera will also be on display.

The Culture was originally 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. The presentation of the exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum was curated by Jason Rawls, EdD. Rawls is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University in the Department of African American & African Studies and the School of Music, a DJ himself (aka J. Rawls), an author, and a prolific record producer.

The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is accompanied by a comprehensive catalog with contributions from more than 50 artists, writers, scholars, curators, and arts leaders.

Featured Media

The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Ford Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Presented by

The Ragland Family Foundation

Exhibition Sponsors

Media Sponsor