by Jabari Bruce
A City Called Art Printing Workshops honored National Hip Hop Day at the King Manor Museum on November 19th.. The celebration taught children ages 2-10 about the culture of 80’s and 90’s Hip-Hop. Older electronics – such as camcorders, walkmans, portable tape recorders, and many more – were shown to the younger generation.
A City Called Art – a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – is dedicated to teaching children about the importance of the different arts. They host workshops in public schools, community centers, museums, churches, libraries and New York City landmarks for in underserved neighborhoods.
Activities included painting and coloring outlines of boomboxes and critically acclaimed hip hop groups, constructing microphones out of art supplies, and playing with trading cards. The instructors placed an importance on the major Queens hip hop influencers such as Run D.M.C., LL Cool J, and A Tribe Called Quest.
The president of the group, Keyonie Hart, explained what makes her connection to 90’s Hip Hop so special. “I grew up in 90’s Hip Hop,” Hart stated. “It was a time where people were having fun and enjoying music. There was no violence and we just enjoyed the culture.” She also described the importance of showing the children the technology from the “golden era”. “Children these days don’t really understand what it is to hold something. It’s tangible. Nowadays, everything is digital. So it opens the doors for them to see what technology was back then compared to now.”
For more information about A City Called Art Printing Workshops, log onto https://acitycalledart.org/home.