Ben Ortiz and DJ Rich Medina present "Collecting Hip-Hop" at Gallery Night, Friday, June 7

Tompkins County Public Library’s celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Hip-Hop comes to an end June 7 as Ben Ortiz and DJ Rich Medina present “Collecting Hip-Hop at Cornell” in conjunction with Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night.

This illustrated presentation will offer an introduction to Hip-Hop history and culture, provide an overview of the items included in Cornell University’s Division of Rare and Manuscript’s Hip-Hop Collection and offer a candid explanation of why Hip-Hop is important to Cornell University Library and its influence on American culture.

Ortiz, the assistant curator of Cornell University Library’s Hip-Hop Collection, and Medina, a 1992 Cornell grad will present “Collecting Hip-Hop at Cornell” at 6 p.m. in the Library’s BorgWarner Community Room.  TCPL’s acclaimed exhibit, “Top2Bottom”, a collection of photographs by legendary Hip-Hop photographers Tony Conzo and Ernie Paniccioli and Hip-Hop memorabilia on-loan from local collectors, will serve as the backdrop for the presentation. This is a last opportunity to see this exhibit before it is taken down.

The exhibit is accessible from 5 to 8 p.m. on Gallery Night.  Afterhours access to the Library will be through the BorgWarner Community Room entrance, behind TCAT’s Green Street bus shelter.


 

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month – Planned Parenthood shares educational materials with an exhibit table in the Avenue of the Friends

As well as our major art exhibits which are supported by funding from the Community Arts Partnership and exhibits in the display cases in the Avenue of the Friends, TCPL also makes table space available for community groups to present informational material to the community.  This table space can be reserved for two week periods on a first come, first served basis.  From May 18 through May 31, Planned Parenthood will be displaying educational materials for National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month.

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month emphasizes the importance of strong partnerships between communities and families in helping young people to make healthy, values-based decisions that promote achievement and avoid sexual risk behaviors, and promote parent-child conversations about healthy sexuality and relationships.  Planned Parenthood believes that parents can, and should, be the primary educators when it comes to these topics.  Research studies show that teens want to learn about sexuality and relationships from their parents.  However, conversations about sex can be difficult and Planned Parenthood works to support both parents and children in this sometimes challenging conversation with the provision of educational resources.

This table exhibit provides informative material from Planned Parenthood including Families are Talking, a newsletter published by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, posters and bookmarks and helpful books which may be checked out from TCPL’s collection.  To view this display at the library, check the table just inside the Avenue of the Friends beside the handicapped carts.

Community groups wishing to reserve this table space should email sgrubb@tcpl.org or call 272-4557 etc 232.

Hip-Hop: Unbound from the Underground Continues at Tompkins County Public Library at May 3 Gallery Night

TCPL continues its celebration of Hip-Hop Culture at First Friday Gallery Night, 5:00 - 8:00 PM on May 3 with two special events.

5:30 PM meet under the Ezra Cornell Portrait for a "Walk & Talk" through TCPL's current exhibit Top 2 Bottom - A Journey Through the Elements of Hip Hop Culture with graffiti artists Jay Potter and Jay Stooks.

Jay Potter, a graphic designer for Cornell Plantations, is also a founding member of Cap Matches Color which has loaned many items to the exhibit.  He will describe how a work of graffiti art is created from original concept in the artist's black book to completed work.  The example used, photos of which are included  in the display cases beneath the Ezra Cornell portrait, was painted early during Get-Up State especially for this exhibit.  Graffiti is ephemeral art however, and this particular piece was painted over during the weekend and no longer exists.

Jay Stooks, GIAC Youth Program Coordinator also loaned many items to this exhibit and will discuss some of the work contained in the exhibit cases as well as the artwork he created especially for the show.

If you are interested in Graffiti Art in all its many forms this is an event you will not want to miss.  The tour will start promptly at 5:30 PM.


At 6:00 PM TCPL is hosting local business owner Eldred Harris for a Gallery Night presentation on the roots of Hip-Hop.

A South Bronx native and member of the Ithaca School District Board of Education, Harris will present an illustrated talk "Days of F.I.R.E. and Birth of a Hip-Hop Nation." Harris grew up in the South Bronx during the early days of Hip-Hop and experienced first hand the arson that burned down abandoned buildings, as well as the high unemployment and poverty rates.  Hip-Hop arouse out of a community's refusal to be destroyed and a creative desire to survive. You will be left with a clear understanding of the importance of Hip-Hop in American Culture today.

This presentation will take place in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room in the Youth Services Department.

Entry to the Library for both these events, which take place after the Library is closed, is through the BorgWarner Program Door located behind the TCAT bus shelter on Green Street.