MICROSOFT EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSAL HIP HOP MUSEUM THROUGH A $5 MILLION GIFT AS PART OF ITS AI FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM
MICROSOFT WILL CELEBRATE THE PARTNERSHIP AT THE OFFICIAL GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR THE UHHM ON MAY 20th
Today, the Universal Hip Hop Museum (UHHM) is excited to announce their expanded partnership with Microsoft, as the leading global technology company gifts the museum $5,000,000 on behalf of their AI for Cultural Heritage program. Microsoft’s AI for Cultural Heritage program leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to empower people and organizations dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage. Through this partnership, Microsoft will become the Official Technology Partner of the UHHM to help empower the museum’s mission of celebrating and preserving the history of local and global Hip Hop music and culture to inspire, empower, and promote understanding.
“Preserving the history of Hip Hop, celebrating the cultural contributions of the pioneers who paved the way for today’s Hip Hop generation to thrive and flourish, and promoting the positive economic and social aspects of Hip Hop have been the sole focus of the UHHM for the past decade,” said Universal Hip Hop Museum Executive Director, Rocky Bucano.
With the use of advanced technology, such as AI, Microsoft will work together with the UHHM to ensure the museum has the resources and platforms it needs to become the state-of-the-art institution they have envisioned. This partnership will allow the UHHM to design immersive experiences which will engage global audiences both today and well into the future.
“Since its birth in the Bronx almost fifty years ago, innovators have harnessed creativity and technology to evolve and grow Hip Hop into one of today’s most celebrated musical, artistic, and cultural influences,” said Brad Smith, President of Microsoft. “As a proud supporter and official technology partner of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, we’re incredibly excited about the role that Microsoft technology will play to help document, preserve, and tell this uniquely American story to the world.”
This donation builds on a long-standing relationship between Microsoft and the UHHM who initially partnered together in 2016 to co-host envisioning sessions that helped shape the museum’s future vision. In 2019, Microsoft and the UHHM collaborated with MIT Professor Dr. Fox Harrell, to bring to life “Breakbeat Narratives” – an experience using artificial intelligence to explore the rich history of Hip Hop music – which is currently on display at the [R]Evolution of Hip Hop, an exhibition designed to give Hip Hop lovers a sneak peek of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
The Microsoft partnership will be celebrated on Thursday, May 20, 2021, during the official groundbreaking ceremony at Bronx Point, the future home of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
About the Universal Hip Hop Museum
Anchored in the birthplace of Hip Hop culture, the Universal Hip Hop Museum will break ground in the Bronx in 2021. Built as a space for audiences, artists, and technology to converge and create unparalleled educational and entertainment experiences, the museum is slated to open in Bronx Point in 2024. The UHHM will celebrate and preserve the history of local and global Hip Hop music and culture past, present, and future.
About Microsoft AI Cultural Heritage
Microsoft’s AI for Cultural Heritage program leverages the power of AI to empower people and organizations dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage. Microsoft has committed $10 million over five years to expand access to Microsoft Azure and AI resources, focused on celebrating the people who have made a significant impact throughout history, using digital tools to preserve important monuments and sites for future generations to explore, engaging with communities around the world for language preservation, and creating ways for collections and archives to be more easily accessed and enjoyed. By harnessing the latest tools in ways that support an environment rich in diversity, perspectives, and learnings from the past, and sharing that knowledge and experience to be shared with the rest of the world, every society benefits.
