Image credit: Sane Smith • Untitled, ca. 1989 • Ink on paper • Museum of the City of New York, gift of Martin Wong, 94.114.188.
Starting this week, El Museo del Barrio and the Museum of the City of New York are teaming up to launch the first edition of Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights @ 104th & Fifth. The first-ever partnership between the neighboring museums will present a full roster of live multimedia and performance events with DJ sets, art-making workshops, breakdancing crews, live music, local food vendors, and even a piñata doomed for destruction.
These block-party style events, hosted at the northern tip of the Museum Mile in East Harlem, are free and open to the public with extended museum hours, and kick off this Wednesday, July 30th at 6 PM.
For more info, and to RSVP, visit www.mcny.org or www.elmuseo.org, and check out the full roster below.
Wednesday, July 30th, 6 – 9 PM: ROOTS.
At Museo del Barrio: performance by folklorist Elena Martínez (City Lore), DJ set from D’Marquesina, video projections by Erika Harrsh, Leo Castañeda, Geraldo Mercado, sidewalk art by Murcielagos Fumando Collective. At the City Museum: hip hop set from DJ Tony Touch, live performance by congas player Chico Cruz, plus the City As Canvas exhibition exploring graffiti’s influence on hip hop.
Wednesday, August 6th, 6 – 9 PM: THROWBACK.
Celebrate the golden era of hip hop– the ‘80s in NYC. At Museo del Barrio: artist Perla de Leon describes her experience photographing the Bronx in the 1980s, a throwback DJ set from D’Marquesina, live video projections from Erika Harrsh, Leo Castañeda, and Geraldo Mercado, and live sidewalk art by Murcielagos Fumando Collective. At the City Museum: classic hip hop trucks spun by DJ Grand Master Caz, and the NBS (Nothing But Skills) breakdancing crew flexes their skills.
Wednesday, August 13th, 6 – 9 PM: THE REMIX
Old school crossbreeds with new school for the Uptown Bounce finale: at el Museo del Barrio, founder Raphael Montañez Ortiz discusses the beginnings of the Museum in discussion with Chon Noriega, Director of Chicano Studies Director at the UCLA, while guests take turn smashing a piñata commissioned from artist Melissa Calderon in spirit of Ortiz’ “destruction movement.” At the City Museum, DJ Grand Master Caz samples classic and current hip hop, with choreographer Kelly Peters’ Generation X Hip Hop Dance Crew on the floor.