Hip Hop

Have you ever felt the power of freely expressing yourself, united with others through your shared voices and struggles? In Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious, we invite you to explore how collective expression connects to empowerment.

Tracing over 50 years of hip hop history, this exhibition journeys from the gritty streets of the South Bronx in the 1970s — where inner-city youth turned struggles into art using turntables, spray paint and linoleum - to hip hop’s evolution into a global billion-dollar industry.

This retrospective goes beyond a chronological account, capturing hip hop's (r)evolution from an unconscious force into a conscious global movement, influencing music, art, fashion and language worldwide.

Featuring 200 striking photographs by more than 50 renowned photographers, such as Martha Cooper, Jonathan Mannion, Janette Beckman and Campbell Addy, capturing icons of the scene like Lauryn Hill, Tupac Shakur and Kendrick Lamar, these images also show lesser-known pivotal moments, such as DJ Kool Herc’s legendary Bronx party (often cited as hip hop’s official birthday).

A unique “Hip-Hop in Deutschland” chapter further explores the cultural and political impact of rap in Germany, offering fresh insights into hip hop's global reach.

Experience the transformative power of collective expression, honoring the artists who have shaped the culture of hip hop – and with it, history at large.

CREDITS 

Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious is presented by Fotografiska and Mass Appeal.

The exhibition is co-curated by Sacha Jenkins (former Chief Creative Officer, Mass Appeal) and Sally Berman (former Visuals Director, Hearst Visual Group).

The German section “Hip Hop in Deutschland” is co-curated by Yolandé Gouws, Davide Bortot, Miriam Davoudvandi and Ron Schindler (aka DJ Ron), in close collaboration with Götz Gottschalk, Bryan Vit of the Freies Hip-Hop Institut, Heidelberg, and the curatorial assistant Lina Czerny.