The Importance of the Reopening of the Studio Museum in Harlem
This past weekend, the Studio Museum in Harlem finally reopened—with a sleek, modernist design that emphasizes the artworks that fill the space’s walls.
From Now: A Collection in Context. Photography by Kris Graves.
In 1968, the Studio Museum in Harlem came to life when a group of artists, activists, philanthropists, and Harlem residents joined forces to create a space for the city’s prominent artistic scene. During this time, the inaugural director, Charles E. Inniss, was carefully planning what to do with the space at 2033 Fifth Avenue. Soon after, Tom Lloyd became the first artist in the museum’s Studio Program. Here, Lloyd received financial support, resources, and materials—the first of many artists to do so.
After the Studio Program, the Film Unit was established within the same year. This program, directed by Randy Abbott and Rodger Larson, Director of the Young Filmmakers Foundation, provided free filmmaking lessons and resources for New York City students. From the opening to the mid-1970s, the Studio Museum in Harlem was graced by directors Edward S. Spriggs, Courtney Callender, and Mary Schmidt Campbell, until it was gifted the space at 144 W. 125th St.
Tom Lloyd. Photography by Kris Graves.
From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the Studio Museum in Harlem has highlighted hundreds of artists across African American Arts, Black artists during war and conflict, Contemporary African Art, African sculpture, and more, with Kinshasha Holman Conwill as the museum’s director until 1999. When Lowery Stokes Sims and Thelma Golden became director and deputy director for exhibitions and programs, they embraced uptown culture and art through interactive programming, workshops, events, and exhibitions.
In 2005, Golden was named the director and chief curator. During her time under these titles, she helped the museum expand by adding more labs, workshops, artists, exhibitions, programs, and renovations. In 2018, the Studio Museum in Harlem proposed reconstructing the entire space, inside and out, modernizing at the pace of the bustling community. While the Studio Museum was being rebuilt, MoMA, MoMA PS1, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) exhibited their resident artists and archival works.
This past weekend, the Studio Museum in Harlem finally reopened—with a sleek, modernist design that emphasizes the artworks that fill the space’s walls. On its opening night, they exhibited From the Studio: Fifty-Eight Years of Artists in Residence. Being their signature initiative, the Artist-in-Residence program has supported over 150 artists since its genesis.
From Now: A Collection in Context. Photography by Kris Graves.
At the inaugural re-opening, they featured works from artists including Candida Alvarez, Kevin Beasley, Sanford Biggers, Bright Bimpong, Willie Birch, Chakaia Booker, Jordan Casteel, Vladimir Cybil Charlier, Gregory Coates, William Cordova, Ada Pilar Cruz, sonia louise davis, Leonardo Drew, Cameron Granger, Lauren Halsey, Allison Janae Hamilton, Maren Hassinger, Cynthia Hawkins, EJ Hill, and many more.
The inaugural re-opening also went back to the museum’s roots, showing Lloyd’s work, the first artist in the Studio Program. They exhibited To Be a Place; an archive of how the Studio Museum in Harlem came to life, which will be on view until August 2026. They also displayed From Now: A Collection in Context, a rotating thematic installation of hundreds of Black artists. There will also be upcoming workshops and labs for children and families, including teen studios, studio Sundays, family tours, watercolor painting, story time, collage-making, and more.
From the Studio: Fifty-Eight Years of Artists in Residence. Photography by Kris Graves.
From the moment the Studio Museum in Harlem became a vision in 1968 to its reopening this year, civil and political unrest, as well as constant cultural shifts, have always been central themes. The 1968 opening occurred around the time of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the Vietnam War, and Richard Nixon’s presidential election. Today, we’re enduring a time of more political scandals, genocides, and unjust policies.
The Black population was still on the rise after the Harlem Renaissance, and while the neighborhood faces rapid gentrification today, now more than ever, it’s crucial that we have a space that empowers Black artists, their stories, and their artworks. Today, that space remains the Studio Museum in Harlem.
You can visit the Studio Museum in Harlem from Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 144 W. 125th St., New York, NY.
