CIRCA Presents: Tahir Hemphill

Hemphill’s Rap Research Lab is a community-based creative technology studio that uses a Hiphop framework to develop new ways for people to engage with data and culture. Rap Research Lab builds on Hiphop’s legacy as a transformative and innovative genre that revolutionized global cultural practices by pioneering new, 21st century digital forms by harnessing big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, natural language processing, and social networks to create opportunities for cultural research, creative competition, individual expression, and collaborative problem solving. With wide use, our platforms reconstruct how the public understands, visualizes and engages data networks, and ignites student interest in STEM careers. Previous to coming to UMBC, Tahir was the 4th Chair in Education at the Library of Congress, 2019 Verizon 5G EdTech Challenge winner, 2019 Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Media Studies Fellow, 2018 LACMA Art + Technology Lab Grantee, 2017 Autodesk Pier 9 Artist-in-Residence, 2016 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Behavioral Science Resident, 2016 Spotify Media Artist-in-Residence, 2015 National Endowment of the Arts Art Works Grantee, 2012 Fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, 2012 Creative Capital Awardee, and 2010-2012 Eyebeam Artist-in-Residence. His work was featured in the Talk to Me exhibit at MoMA which explores design and the communication between people and objects. Current projects include the national launch of Mapper’s Delight, a virtual and augmented reality, sculptural data visualization and collaboration tool built on semantic relationships of tens of thousands of rap lyrics in partnership with Verizon, leveraging 5G network technology.