THE PRESS ROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • March 24, 2026 • New York, NY

Hip-Hop Education Center and Maysles Documentary Center Launch H2O Community Day

A Living Archive Experience Bridging Film, Storytelling, and Cultural Preservation

A new multidisciplinary initiative where community members don’t just attend—they actively contribute to preserving culture.

A New Community Experience

Where participation becomes preservation

The Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC), in partnership with the Maysles Documentary Center, proudly launches H2O (Hip-Hop Odyssey) Community Day.

This dynamic program brings together film, storytelling, and community-based archiving practices to engage New York City audiences in collective memory-making.

Participants are not just audience members.

They become contributors to a living archive.

Built on a Historic Legacy

Reimagining a pioneering platform

This initiative builds on the legacy of the Hip-Hop Odyssey (H2O) International Film Festival, launched in 2002 as the first Hip-Hop film festival rooted in Harlem and the Bronx.

Now reimagined for a new generation, H2O Community Day expands beyond screenings into immersive cultural experiences.

What to Expect Each Month

Hosted monthly in Central Harlem

Curated Screenings
Films centered on culture, identity, activism, education, and diasporic connection.

Talkbacks
Conversations with filmmakers, scholars, archivists, and artists.

Archiving Workshops
Hands-on preservation tools and practical learning experiences.

Creative Activations
Collaborative storytelling and community expression.

Community Archiving Lab

Expanding what an archive can be

Hands-On Preservation

Digitize photographs, VHS tapes, MiniDVs, and cassettes
Create collaborative zines
Join quilting projects
Participate in oral storytelling sessions
Learn tools to preserve personal history

A Living Archive
An interactive space where digital, analog, and tactile memory practices meet community participation.

Featured Activations

The Fever Vault
A seven-book archival series featuring 35 years of documentary work by Lady K Fever.

Women in Hip-Hop Quilt
Founder Martha Diaz presents a collaborative textile archive honoring women in Hip-Hop.

Zine Workshop
Participants create community publications using historical photographic archives.

Archive Digitization
Collections are preserved and transformed into lasting digital records.

Featured Screenings

My Atl Smile — directed by Palmer Williams III
It Was All a Dream — directed by dream hampton
Martha: A Picture Story — directed by Selina Miles

Talkbacks include Imani Wallace and legendary photographer Martha Cooper.

Community Partners

Organizations strengthening the impact

Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
Third World Newsreel
Maysles Documentary Center

Why It Matters

Students, artists, families, and neighbors become storykeepers—actively shaping a living archive that reflects the richness and global influence of Hip-Hop culture.