Collections of Culture: 50 Years of Hip Hop Inside Libraries, Museums, and Archives 

Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary represents a milestone for an American genre of music that started in the streets of NYC. Queens Public Library, with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is embarking on an epic year-long celebration.

Starting February 2023, nearly 40 organizations - representing libraries, museums, colleges/universities, archives, and cultural institutions across the nation - will host programs exploring the impact that hip hop culture has had on the world, culminating in a two-day summit in August 2023 in Queens, New York.

The programs under this initiative will be in-person, live-streamed, and archived for future generations.

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The 2023 Hip Hop 50 Summit was a two-day event designed to showcase Hip Hop culture throughout the last 50 years. In honoring Hip Hop’s rich history and depth, the Summit featured a wide range of themes—from Fashion to Economics—that speak to how and why the genre has evolved into the global phenomenon it is today. The Summit’s interactive workshops invited visitors to learn hands-on from artists who specialize in various elements of Hip Hop, including DJs, break dancers, and graffiti artists. Hip Hop pioneers, performers, and scholars led panel discussions about the history of Hip Hop and its cultural significance in many different sectors of society. Queens Public Library and the Summit’s sponsors, supporters, and visitors engaged hip hop enthusiasts of all ages in the shared effort to spread knowledge of and build community within the world’s most influential music genre.

Collections of Culture: 50 Years of Hip Hop Inside Libraries, Museums and Archives

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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.