Museum Of Graffiti & Rolling Loud To Host Historic Celebration At Art Basel

Cey Adams wants to honor his legacy in art and hip-hop by presenting his timeless pieces in a way future generations will never forget.

Adams' roots in hip-hop culture run deep between his early years as a world-renowned graffiti artist to his groundbreaking work as Def Jam's inaugural Creative Director. After spending the past four decades creating iconic logos, album covers and successful ad campaigns for major brands, Adams put his life's work into an exhibition called "Departure: 40 Years of Art and Design." The exhibit features several stand-out pieces including the "Drawing Board Graphic Design," which is made up of historic rap album covers he made for artists from LL COOL J to JAY-Z.

"We all have these multiple anniversaries," Adams tells iHeartRadio. "And then when you combine that with the recording artists that I worked with at the birth of hip hop in the '80s, you have all of these mutual anniversaries. I think that's the thing that's great about this show is that it gets to celebrate not only me, but everybody else that's been on the journey."

The exhibition will debut at the Art of Hip-Hop during Miami Art Week. It's one of several highlights from the Museum of Graffiti and Rolling Loud's slew of events during Art Basel in Miami. Much like Adams, the graffiti-based museum and the biggest rap music festival are commemorating major milestones. Rolling Loud is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the festival in Miami next week and the museum is embracing its fifth year at its flagship location in Wynwood. The block between NW 25th Street and NW 26th Street will be the epicenter of MOG & Rolling Loud's 3-day celebration. Between December 4-6, fans can experience rare exhibitions by Adams, Tristan Eaton, and OG Slick inside the Museum of Graffiti, the Private Gallery and the Art of Hip-Hop.

"Every year we try to outdo ourselves or outdo the year before, and so we are very ambitious," Museum of Graffiti co-founder Alan Ket adds. "We are very fortunate that we've got such great artists partnering with us this year to present their work. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be a lot of good music, a lot of great DJs, and so it's going to be unlike anything we've done before. [Rolling Loud] is celebrating their 10-year anniversary, we're celebrating our five-year anniversary, so it's going to be a very, very big party, very big celebration during our week."

"We are experts in the visual art component for urban art, especially in graffiti, which is one of the elements of hip hop," Museum of Graffiti co-founder Allison Freidin says. "And bringing in a partner who can authentically curate the audio component for that hip hop is truly a blessing, and they come with a huge following and a lot of resources, and we believe we're better together."

Before Art Basel officially kicks off this week, get a closer look at the artists who will debut their masterpieces at the Museum of Graffiti.

OG Slick

Upon entering the Museum of Graffiti, ticketholders will be greeted by OG Slick's classic Happy Face series and other works of art from his "MIA" exhibit. Slick is a seasoned visual artist who's captivated fans for over three decades with his unique blend of street culture and fine art. Fans can expect to experience his "Happy Room," which is a multi-media installation inspired by his signature "happy face" artwork. They can also see his iconic "MIA Love Gloves" come to life in an exclusive drop only available at the Museum of Graffiti. Slick is showcasing his work during Art Basel Miami for the first time, and he couldn't be more excited to display it at the revered museum.

"Hopefully they can appreciate where I'm coming from," Slick says. "I've given much of my life to graffiti and street art, and it is what it is. This is what I do. So all I can do is put myself out there and hopefully there are others that are like-minded individuals that appreciate what we do and what we do for the culture. That's why I'm at the Museum of Graffiti and not at some bougie gallery spot."

Tristan Eaton

After experiencing Slick's exhibit, fans can walk next door to the museum to the Private Gallery where Tristan Eaton will bring his artistic genius and his childhood dreams to life. The veteran muralist will debut new rare, spray-painted creations on canvas that feature his take on Marvel's female superheroes. He added his personal touch to sheroes like Storm, Jean Grey, Spiderwoman, She-Hulk, Mystique and others. Eaton is one of four people in the world who received Marvel's blessing to use their intellectual property to cook up his latest masterpieces.

"I think the show is psychedelic and colorful and bombastic and all the things I like it to be," Eaton says about his exhibit. "There's one wall that are giant art prints that are comic book slabs. We made gigantic slabs that are 18 by 24 inches, and we have a whole wall of art prints that were made using this algorithm where I created a collection of 1500 prints where every single one is one of a kind, and it's the wildest body of work ever. Then there are some gigantic eight-foot circular paintings that are everything I love to do as a painter, all in one. And those are the women of Marvel in more like action poses."

Cey Adams

Cey Adams' solo exhibit "Departure: 40 Years of Art & Design" features over 60 pieces of photography archives, mixed media collages, paintings, fashion, street art, and contemporary fine art that embraces his iconic life story. He spent the past few weeks transforming the Art of Hip-Hop into a historic exhibit. Adams used items from his archive and created new works of art specifically for Art Basel. One wall is covered with over 50 album covers he made for artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Public Enemy and more. Another wall is covered with a fresh mural he created alongside his longtime friend Erni Vales. In addition to his rap-inspired pieces, Adam also includes creations he made during his time cooking up logos and marketing campaigns with brands like Levi's and Mattel. One piece in particular is a 5-foot statue of the Hot Wheels logo he made in partnership with Mattel Creations.

"The idea of pulling all of these things together from different parts of my life never even occurred to me because it's difficult just to find things," Adams says. "I have my own archives, but to be able to find things that are memorable to other folks is a little challenging itself. It took us a couple of years to figure it out, but man, am I happy I did it because I never realized how much it matters to other people."

In between gallery visits, fans can experience the interactive campus featuring gourmet food and special drinks by sponsors like Modelo, rare panel discussions, an Olympic-style breakdancing battle and so much more. They'll have access to exclusive drops by all three artists including their works of art and other merch.

Fans can also explore the artist lounge where they can make custom playlists and enjoy surprise musical performances. One performance rap fans can anticipate is an exclusive listening session for Bun B and Statik Selektah's fourth installment of their TrillStatik album series. The duo recently announced their plans to release TrillStatik 4 the project during Miami Art Week. They won't be the only artists who plan to hit the stage this week either. With Rolling Loud in town, you might see one of the artists from their massive lineup pull up to the epic celebration.

“Moving Rolling Loud Miami to December, we knew we wanted to show up to Art Basel in a big way and an authentic way," says Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif, Co-Founders of Rolling Loud. "Partnering with the Museum of Graffiti to celebrate artists like OG Slick and Cey Adams, who have contributed so much to hip hop culture, felt like a no brainer. We’ve got an immersive experience that shows off the 10 Years of Rolling Loud with exclusive merch and are excited about the artist performances we have lined up for the events throughout the week.”

Tickets for the Museum of Graffiti and Rolling Loud's Art Week are on sale now exclusively on the museum's website. Scroll below for the full schedule of events.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2024

11AM: Private Collectors’ Preview & First Access to Artists Lounge. Guests of the Artists Lounge can expect live music, limited edition drops, and the opportunity to design covers for their own playlists using the new ‘Create Cover Art’ feature.

12PM: Public Opening of Campus, featuring a performance by Rahzel and complimentary gourmet cuisine by Chef Abe Moiz presented by CookUnity

1PM: Panel Discussion entitled “Global Hip Hop Culture Born in Miami” with the co-founders of Museum of Graffiti and Rolling Loud

2PM: Limited edition release of OG Slick’s MIA Love Gloves

Edition of 200, Museum of Graffiti Exclusive, $195

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024

11AM: Public Opening of Campus with musical performances all day presented by Google Pay. Enjoy access to the Artists’ Lounge, live tattoo artists customizing leather accessories at the Modelo Swag Tattoo Parlor, Complimentary single-line portraits all day by 0H10 Mike in partnership with Paso D’Oro, rap on the beat with Hunna G and Monster Energy

12PM: Complimentary gourmet cuisine by Chom Sun of 2 Korean Girls presented by CookUnity

1PM Panel Discussion with the 3 Exhibiting Artists: SLICK, CEY ADAMS, TRISTAN EATON

2PM: Cey Adams Releases Vintage Deadstock Def Jam Poster from 1999 ($200). Drawing Board Graphic Design: 10 Years Deep in Hip-Hop (1989-1999) Vintage Limited Edition Poster, Limited to 15 Copies ($200)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2024

11 AM: Patio Opens with access to the Artists’ Lounge, live tattoo artists customizing leather accessories at the Modelo Swag Tattoo Parlor, and Complimentary single-line portraits all day by 0H10 Mike in partnership with Paso D’Oro

12 PM: Complimentary gourmet cuisine by Chef Fabiola Rivera presented by CookUnity

1PM Why Graffiti? Panel Discussion with top Executives on how they have leaned into graffiti in their business decisions: Richard Dickson, CEO of The Gap, Julia Steyn, and Pierre Charalambides, co-founder of Dolphin Capital

2PM: Tristan Eaton signing of Kidrobot’s 20th Anniversary Still Life 8” Gold Dunny Electroplate Edition of 300; $150

3PM: USA Breakin’ All Star Battle featuring B-Boy Demo, B-Boy Kay, B-Boy Eagle, and B-Girl Vicious Meelicious

4PM: Trillstatik 4 Listening Party with Bun B & Statik Selektah