Kennedy Center names first director of hip-hop culture

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On Wednesday, the Kennedy Center announced that they were naming their first director of hip-hop culture and contemporary music: Simone Eccleston.

“With the Kennedy Center serving as the preeminent home for our nation’s arts and culture, the creation of a programmatic platform for hip-hop culture is deeply significant,” Eccleston said in a statement.

Kennedy Center Senior Vice President Robert van Leer said that hip-hop culture can create collaborations with other programs. Eccleston will lead a center-wide commitment to culture and music in hip-hop as well as an increased push for community involvement.

“We are thrilled to have an arts administrator of Simone’s caliber join us — someone who can lead that exploration of what hip-hop at the Kennedy Center can become in the coming years,” van Leer said in a statement. “And we believe it is the Center’s responsibility to develop and elevate thought-leaders like Simone to champion the bright future of our nation’s cultural institutions.”