Chicago Exhibition Explores the Shared History of Dancehall and Reggaetón

Beth Lesser, Singer Gregory Isaacs in front of his record shop, African Museum, on Chancery Lane, Kingston, Jamaica, 1984

A major exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is placing dancehall and reggaetón within a broader history of Black Atlantic culture. Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón examines the genres as artistic, political and social movements rather than simply forms of entertainment.

The exhibition features approximately 40 artists and traces reggaetón's development through Jamaica, Panama and Puerto Rico, highlighting the role of sound system culture, migration and resistance in shaping contemporary popular music.

This exhibition reflects a growing recognition within museums and cultural institutions that Black popular music deserves the same level of scholarly and artistic attention traditionally afforded to other cultural movements. It also reinforces the historical links between Jamaican dancehall and the development of reggaetón.