Martha Diaz

Martha Diaz
Photographed by Terrance Jennings
Born1969 (age 56–57)
Alma materNew York University, Fairleigh Dickinson University
OccupationsFounder/President, Hip-Hop Education Center
Known forCommunity Organizer, Media Producer, Archivist, Curator, Educator, Social Entrepreneur

Martha Diaz is a Colombian-American community organizer, media producer, archivist, curator, and social entrepreneur.

Education

Diaz earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with a minor in Television and Film Production from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She later completed a Master of Arts in Hip-Hop for Social Change at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University [1], followed by a Master of Arts in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.[2]

Career

Diaz began her career as an intern working for Ted Demme on the cable show Yo! MTV Raps.[3] She later served as an associate producer on several documentary films, including Black August, directed by Dream Hampton; Where My Ladies At?, directed by Leba Haber-Rubinoff; and Nas: Time Is Illmatic, directed by One9.[4][5] In 2002, Diaz founded the H2O (Hip-Hop Odyssey) International Film Festival with a group of filmmakers, entertainment industry professionals, activist, and artists.[6][7]

Diaz later served as executive director of the Hip-Hop Association, a community building 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. During her tenure, the organization received a Union Square Arts Award, which recognizes leadership in arts-and-culture-based education and social change.[8]

In 2012, Diaz was appointed by Dr. Khalil Muhammad as the first Hip-Hop Scholar-in-Residence at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research center of the New York Public Library.[9][10][11] During her residency, she developed and curated the Hip-Hop 4.0 initiative from 2012 to 2014.

Diaz has also served as a guest curator at NJ Performing Arts Center,[12] Museum of the Moving Image,[13], Lincoln Center[14], and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, where she curated the institution’s first Hip-Hop film series.[15]

In collaboration with Marcella Runell Hall, Diaz co-edited Hip-Hop Education Guidebook: Volume 1, a collection of lesson plans and resources designed to support the integration of hip-hop into classroom curricula.[16]The guidebook grew out of the Hip-Hop Education Summit, which Diaz founded and curated with Patricia Wang from 2003 to 2005.

In 2010, while a graduate student at New York University, she founded the Hip-Hop Education Center to formalize and unify the field of hip-hop based education under the auspices of Dr. Pedro Noguera and Dr. Edward Fergus.[17][18] The Hip-Hop Education Center developed from the archives, lessons learned, and best practices established through the work of the Hip-Hop Association.

Diaz conducted the first national study on hip-hop education programs and initiatives at the NYU Metropolitan Center for Urban Education within New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.[19][20]

From 2011 to 2015, Diaz was a part-time professor at New York University's Gallatin School.[21][22][23]

Diaz was involved with the Universal Hip Hop Museum as an advisor and community partner beginning in 2015, and later worked with the institution from 2019 to 2023. During this period, she served as Chair of Archives, Curatorial, and Educational Affairs, contributing to the development of the museum’s exhibitions, educational programming, digital archive, and digital asset management system.[24][25]

Since 2022, Diaz has been a Senior Producer at The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, where she has contributed to mentoring and program development. She has also contributed to the development of The Alliance’s Arts2Work Digital Archivist Apprenticeship Program, a federally recognized apprenticeship pathway in the United States.[26][27]

Fellowships

  • Catherine B. Reynolds Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship (2008) Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation[28]
  • Goldman Sachs Lemelson Senior Fellow, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (2013)[29]
  • A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholar, Columbia University (2014-2017[30]
  • Nasir Jones Fellow, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard University (2017), Hiphop Archive and Research Institute[31]
  • MacArthur Civic Media Fellow, Annenberg Innovation Lab, University of Southern California (2020)[32]

References

  1. ^ "Hip-Hop: How Media & Moguls Changed the Genre".
  2. ^ "Graduate To Curate Academy Film Series, Archive Hip-Hop Media At Harvard".
  3. ^ Feministing: Lady of Hip-Hop
  4. ^ Tribeca Film Festival 2014
  5. ^ ‘Nas: Time is Illmatic’ Team Talks Expanding 20-Year Hip-Hop Legacy - Black Enterprise October 6, 2014
  6. ^ N.Y. Film Festival Highlights Hip-Hop - Billboard Nov 16, 2002
  7. ^ Seven Who Invent a Better Future - 2010
  8. ^ "Union Square Awards".
  9. ^ Higher Learning: Using Hip-Hop Education to Transform Schools and Communities
  10. ^ "Hip-Hop Education Think Tank III: Legacy Building - Cultivating a Global Cipher from the Streets to the Classroom".
  11. ^ "Video Music Box Kicks Off 30TH Year Anniversary During Black History Month With An Event At The Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture". 12 February 2013.
  12. ^ NJPAC Teacher Resource Guide
  13. ^ "Museum of the Moving Image - Series - Made You Look: Documenting the Art, History, Power, and Politics of Hip-Hop Culture".
  14. ^ "Hip-Hop Education Center & Lincoln Center Collaboration to Spotlight Women in Hip-Hop".
  15. ^ Hip Hop Education Center CEO Martha Diaz & The Academy’s Patrick Harrison Talk New Film - Ebony Mag May 24, 2017
  16. ^ Diaz, Martha; Runell Hall, Marcella (2007). The Hip-Hop Education Guidebook: Volume 1. Hip-Hop Association. ISBN 9780615142623.
  17. ^ Taking back the mic: Hip-hop as a STEM learning tool - Washington Post December 14, 2012
  18. ^ Hip-Hop Education Reaches Youth in Low-Income - Good News Planet TV October 31, 2011
  19. ^ "Hip-Hop Education Reaches Youth in Low-Income". 31 October 2011.
  20. ^ Teachers Use Hip Hop to Engage Students By Jason Koebler
  21. ^ "Social Enterprising: Redefining Social Change in the 21st Century > Courses > Academics > NYU Gallatin".
  22. ^ "Hip-Hop Trails: Tracing and Rediscovering the Origins and Legacy of Hip-Hop Culture > Courses > Academics > NYU Gallatin".
  23. ^ "Gallatin Faculty Show". 18 September 2014.
  24. ^ "The Universal Hip Hop Museum's DAM Is Built For Now — And The Future". Jing Daily Culture. Jing Culture & Commerce. January 25, 2022.
  25. ^ "A Museum to Celebrate the History of Hip Hop is Set to Open in the Bronx". April 1, 2021.
  26. ^ "New Apprenticeship Pathways: Arts2Work Digital Archivist". Apprenticeship.gov. U.S. Department of Labor. November 22, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  27. ^ "MARKA: archives reimagined". marka.thealliance.media. The Alliance for Media Arts+Culture. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  28. ^ "NYU May Create A Hip-Hop Studies Minor [UPDATED]". 16 November 2016.
  29. ^ "2019 Lemelson Center Activities Report".
  30. ^ "A'Lelia Bundles Community Scholars at Columbia University".
  31. ^ "Fall Colloquium with 2017 Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow Martha Diaz". 5 October 2017.
  32. ^ "MacArthur Civic Media Fellowship at USC". 4 June 2020.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Diaz