At an event called Future Classic, there are many indications that the future has already arrived. From the proliferation of Puma and Kangol, to the 1980s hip-hop scene that now seems more visible than ever to the breakdancing frenzy that ruled the cardboard dance floor, to hip-hop founding father DJ Kool Herc breaking it down on the well-worn but never rusty ones and twos, the essential elements that define hip-hop culture coalesced Saturday at the Boston Center for the Arts.

But perhaps the most valuable history lesson for the young’uns roaming the crowd (with their freshly customized, airbrushed acrylic caps) adorned the walls. A vibrant array of ‘urban art’ on display includes graffiti art in its many incarnations: standard art gallery fare as well as bare city walls, with painted canvases alongside photos capturing brick-wall burners in all their colorful glory.

With an appearance by Seen, the godfather of graffiti, as well as many other prominent artists in the genre, the visual art of Future Classic is a crash course in the old skool as well as a peek at diverse works of art with a fresh and powerful sense of social commentary.

Seen, whose early bombing in the Bronx made him a legend he painted his first piece on a New York City 6 Train in 1973 was in attendance to show a series of his paintings (done on canvas) of cartoon-esque images all with the number 0720 stenciled in the upper left corner of the canvas.

Among the other artists showcased was the Tats Cru of New York City, who gained prominence in the ’80s. One of their feature works a striking, large canvas mural depicts a mischievous-looking tagger whipping out a can of spray paint in motion-capturing series, amid a landscape of many colored tags. Spray can artist Percy captures musicians, including Biggie, Big Pun and Slick Rick, in a series of paintings that display vivid depth and realistic detail.

The collection of visual art at Future Classic was as diverse as the crowd that night. The presence of genre veterans suggested that any kind of torch-passing is irrelevant in an art form that ignites flames of creativity wherever there’s a blank space and a teeming imagination.