8bitmode » Homegrown – Former exhibition of Urbis

Here are some shots which I took during the last days of Urbis. There not great but it was worth documenting such a forward thinking exhibition.

Urbis closed in February 2010 ahead of the building’s conversion to house the National Football Museum from the summer of 2011. The building was seen by many as one the only exhibition space s dedicated to modern culture, with people still mourning it’s loss in Manchester.

Here’s some blurb on Homegrown:

This exhibition was the first attempt in the UK, to document the UK Hip Hop scene and tell the tale – in a gallery. Tracing its American Roots, it charted its entry into the UK mainstream, where the mantel is currently held firmly aloft by artists such as Speech Debelle, Est’Elle and Dizzee Rascal.

Looking back over three decades, it told how a generation of youth took the spirit of the Bronx block party and fused it with a British influences, creating a powerful cultural medium combining art, politics, rhyme dance and music.

Working with UK collaborators, collectors, photographers, musicians, producers, promoters and artists it brought together the rare, remarkable and irreplaceable, featuring many of the artsits’ own personal possessions.