Foam presents Atlanta Made Us Famous, the first solo museum exhibition by rising star Hajar Benjida. Following her selection as one of the Foam Talents 2021, Benjida returns to Foam with an extended presentation of her acclaimed photographic series, offering an intimate portrayal of Atlanta’s strip club scene.

Focusing on Magic City, one of Atlanta’s most influential strip clubs and a cultural epicentre of hip-hop, Benjida examines the social, visual, and economic structures that shape this ecosystem from within. The women she photographs are not merely presented as performers, but as entrepreneurs, mothers, and caretakers: strong and autonomous figures whose labour extends beyond the stage. Built on years of trust and collaboration, Benjida’s work offers an intimate glimpse into a world rarely seen, honouring the strong intergenerational networks and the multifaceted realities of these women’s lives within Atlanta’s influential hip-hop culture.

Deliberately avoiding the spectacle of the dance floor, she turns her lens to the unseen spaces of preparation, backstage rituals and the everyday. The foundation of this industry lies not on stage, but in the decisions, work, and lives of the women themselves. Through portraits that move between strength and vulnerability, Benjida showcases self-aware women who have built their economic independence by investing in real estate and their own businesses.

This exhibition of Benjida pays tribute to the women behind Atlanta’s influential hip-hop scene—a city she considers pivotal in shaping the global sound of the genre. They act as the unofficial gatekeepers of the music industry.

The official opening will take place on Thursday 20 November. The exhibition will be open to visitors from 14 November.

About the artist

Hajar Benjida (1995) is a Moroccan-Dutch photographer and visual artist based in New York. Her work combines documentary intimacy with a strong engagement in identity, representation, and popular culture. Benjida graduated in 2019 from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht with a BA in Photography. Her work was also showcased at Art Basel during Scope Art Fair Miami 2018 with her project Young Thug as Paintings, created in collaboration with Young Thug himself. She received several awards. Among others, she won the 2019 Emerging Talent Award from LensCulture. Atlanta Made Us Famous was selected by Unseen as one of the nine most remarkable graduation projects of 2019, and the same project later became part of Foam Talent 2021. In 2022, she also won the BJP International Photography Award and was one of the Prospects of the Mondriaan Fund.

Atlanta Made Us Famous can be seen from 14 November – 25 March 2026 at Foam.

Open daily 10.00 – 18.00 hrs, Thurs/Fri 10.00 – 21.00 hrs.
  

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