The Hip Hop Museum to host archive panel at Shepard Fairey art-car premiere in New York

The Hip Hop Museum will present a Sept. 26 panel at CART Department in New York tied to the world premiere of Shepard Fairey’s Untitled (Art Car). The event links Hip Hop history, archival authority and a new exhibition that runs Sept. 24-27 and is free to the public.

Why it matters: - The panel puts Hip Hop history, memory and cultural authority at the center of a public conversation in New York. - The program connects the culture’s past to how museums and archives decide what gets preserved and recognized. - The exhibition is free and open to the public, widening access to the work and the discussion around it.

What happened: - The Hip Hop Museum will present “When the Underground Becomes the Archive: Art, Music, Memory, and the Making of Cultural Authority” on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at CART Department, 16 Morton Street, New York. - The panel features Rocky Bucano, Grandwizzard Theodore and Eric Orr. - The event is presented alongside the world premiere of Shepard Fairey’s Untitled (Art Car). - The exhibition runs Thursday, Sept. 24 through Sunday, Sept. 27, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

The details: - Shepard Fairey’s first vehicle intervention is a 1937 Packard Touring Sedan wrapped in metallic gold patterns. - One side includes Hip Hop phrases from Slick Rick, Chuck D of Public Enemy and The Notorious B.I.G. - The other side draws on punk lyrics from Joe Strummer of The Clash, Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys and Jamie Reid’s work with the Sex Pistols. - Ten new works inspired by the car will be shown with additional existing works by Fairey. - Wednesday, Sept. 23 includes a press preview from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a VIP preview from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Thursday, Sept. 24 includes an artist talk with Carlo McCormick and Shepard Fairey from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by an opening reception with DJ G-Bo The Pro from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Friday, Sept. 25 features “When Rock Met Hip-Hop,” moderated by Steven Blush with Janette Beckman, Eric Haze, Pete Nice and Drew Stone, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Rocky Bucano is co-founder and executive director of The Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. - Grandwizzard Theodore is widely credited with inventing the scratching technique. - Eric Orr is a New York artist and designer known for a substitutive style of graffiti art that uses visual iconography.

Between the lines: - The programming pairs Hip Hop with punk, signaling a broader argument that both movements emerged from the same urban and social pressures in the 1970s. - The museum is using the art car and the panel to frame Hip Hop as an established cultural archive, not just a music genre or street movement. - The event also positions artists, DJs and designers as primary historical witnesses, not just commentators. - CART Department’s focus on the automobile as an artistic and social artifact fits the exhibit’s theme of culture moving through public space.

What’s next: - The exhibition remains on view through Sunday, Sept. 27 at CART Department. - The panel on Sept. 26 is the museum’s featured public event within the program. - The museum’s broader mission includes a 55,000-square-foot space with artifacts, immersive experiences, live performances and community programming. - CART Department lists media inquiries for Quyn Duong at quyn@cartdept.com and 347-454-6608.

The bottom line: - The weekend event turns a museum conversation into a public statement: Hip Hop’s archives are not being discovered, they are being claimed and curated.