Toronto will be bringing its hip hop history to life with A Fresh Sixteen. This exhibition celebrates the individuals, creativity and collaborations of Toronto’s hip hop culture.
The exhibition will take place from the 5th to 17th November 2026 at It’s OK Studios on Queen Street West. This celebrates 16 years of the Northside Hip-Hop Archive working to ensure that Canada’s Hip Hop history is preserved. This exhibition highlights the communities, artists and cultural aspects which contributed to the creation of hip hop.
Some key features of the exhibition include access to exclusive archival items. This includes unseen analogue photos from the 80’s and 90’s, video footage, live recordings and community radio recordings. This allows us to see what Toronto’s hip hop culture was like in its early days.
This exhibition looks back on significant moments in Toronto’s hip hop culture such as the Crunchie Battle (1984), CHRY Metro Mix Offs and 416 Graffiti Expo. This helps us to understand how the culture has developed by showing us how different parts of hip hop (DJ, MC, Graffiti and Breakdance) helped develop Toronto’s creative community.
Technology is used throughout the exhibition to engage visitors. This includes virtual reality tours looking back on previous Northside exhibitions, an audio tour narrated by Canadian Hip Hop pioneer Michie Mee. There are also listening stations where you can listen to recordings of live shows and community radio that have been found.
There are exhibits to celebrate some of Canada’s most influential Hip Hop artists including Michie Mee, Maestro Fresh Wes and Muzion from Montreal. There is a special section highlighting how they have been recognised by Canada Post with a special stamp design for Black History Month 2026.
This exhibition is very interesting as it focuses on the collaborative nature of hip hop. The name of the exhibition refers to the tradition of giving a sixteen bar verse when collaborating with artists. This represents the collaboration and relationships within the hip hop culture. It also represents the 16 years the archive has been collecting these stories.
As well as looking at photos, recordings and installations this exhibition allows us to recognise the cultural significance of Toronto’s hip hop community. It shows how the hip hop scene wasn’t just created by musicians but by DJs, Photographers, Dancers, Radio, Event Organisers and Independent Artists who created opportunities for others.
Overall this isn’t just an exhibition about music but an exhibition celebrating Canadian culture, creativity and heritage. The Northside Hip-Hop Archive has created an exhibition using historic photos, rare recordings and technology to help us look back on Toronto’s Hip Hop history. This allows us to recognise the importance of the people involved in creating this culture. Most importantly it ensures the stories are kept and passed onto future generations.
The A Fresh Sixteen: A Hip-Hop History Month Exhibition runs from 5 November to 17 November 2026. Located at It’s OK Studios, 468 Queen Street West, Toronto, Canada.
Admission: Free.
Opening hours:
- Monday–Thursday: 1 pm–7 pm
- Friday–Sunday: 12 pm–4 pm
There is also a closing event on 17 November
