The Book of HOV was a joint project between Roc Nation and Brooklyn Public Library, and conceived by the agency.

Its intention was to build an exhibition celebrating Jay-Z’s life in a way that would drive new and younger audiences to the library and to underscore the wider value of libraries as places of inspiration and information at a time when they are under threat from cultural crossfire.

Telling the story of Jay-Z’s life, in such a seemingly unconventional setting challenged us to develop a new approach to exhibition curation.

The two threads of the library and Jay-Z converged into an idea that explored the life and contribution of one of the great artists and wordsmiths of the century, and ultimately became a project that celebrated the contribution of libraries to the communities they serve.

We wanted to reframe visitors’ perception of the library and its multiple zones by transforming a traditionally quiet environment into a highly interactive experience.

The unconventional nature of the building challenged us to tell this story in a different way. The exhibition wasn’t in a cordoned off space, it was intentionally woven through public spaces that were used as narrative starting points.

For example:

The kids space was designed as an interactive zone for children to create their own version of the paper plane, the prominent symbol within Jay-Z’s vocabulary of flying high. What started as a single plane became a sea of 600 and a symbol for children of self belief.

The music room situated Jay-Z’s own music within the broader historical context of its lineage.

The immersive Meditation Room was an intimate space to reflect on the full arc of Jay-Z’s journey.

We knew young people were becoming less likely to view libraries as a relevant resource in their lives, and didn’t see a connection between the access to knowledge they offered and their own ambitions.

Conversely, Jay-Z is Brooklyn’s most famous success story - a man whose exceptional talent and ambition propelled him from the Marcy Projects to multi award winning philanthropist billionaire.

By bringing to life elements of Jay-Z’s story in corresponding places in the library, we reconnected young people to the way libraries can be transformative centers of learning.

The Book of HOV opened on July 14, 2023, taking in 350,000 square footage of the venue. Its run extended from July 14, 2023 to December 4th, 2023, ending on Jay-Z’s birthday.

The exhibition begins with the famous building facade wrapped in a book of Jay-Z lyrics, generating the most viral element of the exhibition.

Contemporary artists were engaged to add different perspectives to the story, placing Jay-Z’s work within the broader vocabulary of contemporary art. The large scale graphics in the foyer were a collaboration with British collage artist Jazz Grant, selected for her work with themes around identity, race, diaspora.

We were also able to drive sign-ups to the library with the limited edition library cards. The end result was the transformation of the mundane into collectible - the cards turned into highly sought after collectors items and became the ultimate tangible takeaway of the event.

74% increase in visits to Brooklyn’s Central library

353,660 —> 616,999

358% increase in new accounts (for all card types) opened at Central

-6,736 —> 30,853

66% increase in new accounts systemwide (for all card types)

-72,921 —> 121,262

117,166 Book of HOV library cards issued to 63,169 patrons including 39,759 new cardholders

Conversation related to The Book of HOV Brooklyn Public Library exhibition generated over 2.6B in topic reach.

User sentiment related to the topic is categorized as 99% positive/neutral. 

The most retweeted post was published by Daily Loud, Jay-Z shows up ‘The Book of HOV’ exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library   [link]. The post has garnered 3.4 million views.

Posts published to all of Roc Nation's O&O properties generated over 48M in estimated post reach.

#TheBookofHOV + #BookofHOV hashtags has generated 7M views on TikTok.

A PBS special on the exhibition with Gayle King aired October 10th, 2023.