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Empire State Building, the lack of well known New York attractions in the Bronx also impacted on the area, as visitors to New York spend their money in the more fashionable and well known boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Despite being deprived of investment and tourism, centres such as the Bronx Museum of Arts seek to redress this with a series of innovative exhibitions that showcase the vibrancy and diversity of Bronx culture. Founded in 1971, the Bronx Museum of Arts is a lesser known New York museum, but has been critically appraised for its pioneering themes. For example in 1987 is exhibited the first presentations of the then relatively new computer-generated art, as well as previously underrated African American artist Romare Bearden. Its focus on the new, the subversive and the repressed is keeping with the broader socio-cultural milieu of the Bronx. More recently, ‘Hush Hip Hop Tours,’ founded by Deborah Harris in 2002, provides one of the most niche sightseeing tours for any New York tourist. Guiding through the history of Hip Hop, this tour provides a glimpse into the social setting of the early pioneers of hip hop, as well as its evolution into mainstream ubiquity. Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow and Rahiem from the Furious Five are just some of the ‘old skool’ founding fathers to lend their experience and memories to the tour. It provides an absolutely unique insight into one of the most innovative and experimental genres of modern music and culture, and serves as a reminder that much of what we take for granted in modern culture has often emerged from the most socio-economically deprived and marginalised communities. As a testament to the vitality of African-American culture, a visit to the Bronx is well worth a trip for any visitor looking for unique things to do in New York. ">The Bronx remains off the beaten track for the vast majority of New York tourists, yet as one of the key components of the ‘Five Boroughs,’ it is a culturally diverse and vibrant area which deserves far more attention than it gets. Plagued by crime, drugs and violence during a long economic decline during the 1970s and 1980s, the Bronx gained an unfortunate reputation as a no-go area of New York. This downward spiral has nonetheless been reversed thanks to the often unnoticed and under-appreciated efforts of community groups and local activists in the last two decades. Bereft of the internationally renowned symbols of American culture such as the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, the lack of well known New York attractions in the Bronx also impacted on the area, as visitors to New York spend their money in the more fashionable and well known boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Despite being deprived of investment and tourism, centres such as the Bronx Museum of Arts seek to redress this with a series of innovative exhibitions that showcase the vibrancy and diversity of Bronx culture. Founded in 1971, the Bronx Museum of Arts is a lesser known New York museum, but has been critically appraised for its pioneering themes. For example in 1987 is exhibited the first presentations of the then relatively new computer-generated art, as well as previously underrated African American artist Romare Bearden. Its focus on the new, the subversive and the repressed is keeping with the broader socio-cultural milieu of the Bronx. More recently, ‘Hush Hip Hop Tours,’ founded by Deborah Harris in 2002, provides one of the most niche sightseeing tours for any New York tourist. Guiding through the history of Hip Hop, this tour provides a glimpse into the social setting of the early pioneers of hip hop, as well as its evolution into mainstream ubiquity. Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow and Rahiem from the Furious Five are just some of the ‘old skool’ founding fathers to lend their experience and memories to the tour. It provides an absolutely unique insight into one of the most innovative and experimental genres of modern music and culture, and serves as a reminder that much of what we take for granted in modern culture has often emerged from the most socio-economically deprived and marginalised communities. As a testament to the vitality of African-American culture, a visit to the Bronx is well worth a trip for any visitor looking for unique things to do in New York.
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Empire State Building, New York Museums,
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