Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is excited to unveil their newest exhibit “And the Beat Don’t Stop: 50 Years of Hip-Hop,” a traveling exhibit from the National Hip-Hop Museum’s Pop Up Experience.
Get ready to make some noise at the exhibit launch Thursday, April 7, 5:00 p.m. because this celebration will have fans of the genre swaying to the beat. The grand opening is free and reservations are not required. Guests can expect dueling DJs, a 360-degree photo booth and break dancing as well as light refreshments.
The collection comes to us from The National Hip-Hop Museum (NHHM), which officially launched in January 2019. The museum is a first of its kind and features the largest collection of hip-hop memorabilia and artifacts around the world. There are four main components to the museum: The House of Hip-Hop, The Hip-Hop Shop, The Hip-Hop Café and The Hip-Hop Museum Pop-Up Experience. The NHHM was founded by Jeremy Beavers and is based in Washington, D.C.
You can see the dynamic array of artifacts Beavers has carefully curated in the video below. Some of the items are on loan to MTCC include custom tennis shoes, plaques and awards as well as boomboxes. The artifacts reflect the best of the best from the past 50 years of hip-hop.
“And the Beat Don’t Stop: 50 Years of Hip-Hop” will run between April 7 and July 1, during which time MTCC will present a series of special events based on the exhibit. Please follow our Events page for the latest offerings.
“While the music and the artifacts are a big draw, we always keep in mind that we are here to educate the community and what a wonderful way to take some not-so-distant history and unpack it a bit and show the cultural connections to today,” said Quantia “Key” Fletcher, director of the museum. “For many of us, hip-hop has been part of our entire consciousness and has impacted our lives from music and fashion to art and culture. It has been the voice of the marginalized populations and offered a mic oftentimes in hallowed spaces.”
Members of the press hoping for a sneak peek should contact Deputy Chief of Communications Mandy Shoptaw at [email protected] or 501.324.9788.