Event: A Visual History of Hip-Hop exhibition comes to Abu Dhabi

Dubai: Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi’s hub for community arts, will host a photography exhibition titled Cotact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop from December 15 2020 to May 31 2021, in partnership with the region’s leading cultural and lifestyle platform, Sole.

Showing outside of the United States for the first time, CONTACT HIGH will take visitors through four decades of photographs, albums, magazine covers and memorabilia that document Hip-Hop culture.

The exhibition will feature over 150 images by over 60 photographers including Janette Beckman, Barron Claiborne, Jorge Peniche, Joe Conzo, Martha Cooper, Jamel Shabazz, Danny Clinch, Brian “B+” Cross, Eric Coleman, Estevan Oriol, Jack McKain and Ravie B. Photographs will be displayed alongside the original contact sheets, providing an intimate look into the photographer’s journey during the shoot, as well as insight into the personality of the subject in front of the camera, often capturing a nuanced or more humorous side of the Hip-Hop artist that is rarely seen by the public. The images portray some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names, such as Kanye West, Cardi B, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, MF Doom, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Aaliyah, A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, and the legendary Notorious B.I.G.

The selection of Abu Dhabi as the exhibition’s first international stop reflects the importance of Hip-Hop culture to those living in the UAE and wider region, as well as the Arab world’s growing fan-base of the music and fashion associated with the movement.

Contact High is curated by journalist Vikki Tobak, writer of the bestselling book of the same name. The exhibition’s Creative Director is Hip-Hop visual artist and filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy, and its Producer is Joseph Patel.

Contact High made its exhibition debut at Photoville New York by United Photo Industries (UPI) in 2018. In 2019 it was shown at the renowned Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, where it holds the record for best-attended show in the history of the foundation. In January 2020 CONTACT HIGH was one of the inaugural exhibitions at the new International Center of Photography (ICP) integrated space in New York.