January 23, 2022
20,000 Sq. Ft. Traveling Tupac Shakur Museum Opens In Los Angeles
A traveling museum celebrating the life and art of Tupac Shakur has started its national tour in Los Angeles.
“Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free,” named after a poem written by the rapper, opened at The Canvas at L.A. Live on Jan. 21, and is selling tickets at this location through May 1. According to KCAL, the 20,000-square-foot immersive experience is described by its creators as “part museum, part art installation, part sensory experience.”
The exhibit was developed by creative director Jeremy Hodges and Nwaka Onwusa, chief curator and Vice President of Curatorial Affairs at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The life of Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur is also prominently intertwined in this new showcase of the rapper’s work, Pitchfork reports.
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Event producer Arron Saxe says one of the goals of the exhibit is to spotlight Shakur’s innate ability to capture and report the world as he saw it, in a way that continues to resonate with audiences across the globe.
“If you take those lyrics and that poetry that he wrote from age 10 years old, until the day he dies at 25, you really see that he knew what he was talking about,” Saxe adds. “And I think that when people walk through this exhibit, and see all the writings, and see what he was talking about, in the context of now, there’s a lot of lightbulbs that are going to be switched on.”
Since it was announced by the rapper’s estate in November, “Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free” has been presented as a travelling exhibit, meant to appear for limited runs across the country. However, as of its opening in Los Angeles, no other cities or dates have been announced.
The exhibit marks the second time in recent months that the rapper’s legacy has been celebrated with a new tribute to his life and work. In November, music executive Aiyisha T. Obafemi, Shakur’s cousin, released A Light On A Hill, an anthology commemorating both his cultural impact and the impression he left on those who knew him personally.