The Future Been Female: Women in Hip-Hop
On the heels of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and BRIC are (literally) shining a light on and honoring the women of Hip Hop. Conceived by fashion icon April Walker, this public art installation will project historic images, lyrics and quotes by women artists, leaders and innovators over four Tuesday evenings, paired with interactive programming in Albee Square.
With April Walker’s Future Female playing in the background, you and artist Giannina Gutierrez will create a chalk masterpiece inspired by these four words: HOW ARE YOU MAGIC?
April Walker
April Walker is a fashion icon, entrepreneur, educator, and author whose work has been featured in Forbes, In Style, Essence, The New York Times, Drink Champs, Vogue, CFDA. Walker has also been featured in award winning documentaries such as “The Remix Hip Hop X Fashion” and “Fresh Dressed”.
As a Brooklyn native, she followed her creative intuition, pioneering urban fashion, setting the stage for a revolution in fashion industry norms, gender politics and culture shifting. Walker shaped the direction that style would take in the future. As the first woman with an urban fashion brand, Walker Wear helped to create a multi-billion dollar industry known as streetwear today, commanded millions in sales, and kicked in distribution doors for this category. Creating one of the most influential brands in our histories to date, “Walker Wear” is still relevant and sold worldwide, and most recently, has collaborated with the WNBA’s New York Liberty team.
As one of the first to identify and implement the power of product placement, Walker was one of the first to start a styling division working with clients like SHAQ, Wu-Tang, Hype Williams, and many more. Icons such as Tupac, BIG, Jay-Z, and Aaliyah have all donned her brand.
Walker has also served as the Vice-President for Phat Farm, launched a women’s division for And-1, and has consulted for Dreamworks, Champion, Ron Artest, and MLB Licensed products. When Walker is not sitting at the helm of Walker Wear, she is a book author, an educator, TISCH/NYU adjunct professor, contributor to Parson’s “Streetwear Essentials”, producer, and her work has been featured domestically and internationally by Sotheby’s, Photoville, and at the Kunsthal and Centraal Museum.
Giannina Gutierrez
Giannina Gutierrez is a multimedia artist born in Colombia and raised in NYC. Currently based in East Harlem, she studied at the Art Students League and Pratt Institute.
A multimedia artist, muralist and teacher, Gutierrez blends inspiration from her heritage with her current urban influences. Her background in figurative drawing and painting is evident in her compositions, in which the human form meets elements of nature, fashion, and street art. Her work expresses her personal journey with heavy influences of flora, fauna, and all natural elements.
Presently, she is creating a body of work featuring repurposed discarded materials, living plants, and other random objects of interest, exploring themes of growth, natural and cultural assimilation. Her work has been featured in several galleries, public art projects, publications throughout NYC, LA, Miami, Chicago, & Puerto Rico.
She truly enjoys working with and co-creating with the public and communities to promote expression, inclusion, individuality, and sustainability.
