Mission
The West Harlem Art Fund (WHAF) is a twenty-six year old, public art and new media organization. Like explorers from the past, who searched for new lands and people, WHAF seek opportunities for artists and creative professionals throughout NYC and beyond wishing to showcase and share their talent. The West Harlem Art Fund presents art and culture in open and public spaces to add aesthetic interest; promote historical and cultural heritage; and support community involvement in local development. Our heritage symbol Afuntummireku-denkyemmtreku: is the double crocodile from West Africa Ghana which means unity in diversity.
Partnerships
AHL Foundation
Artcrawl Harlem
Artistic Noise
Brotherhood/ Sister-Sol
City College of New York, J Max Bond Center
City College of New York, Sonic Sonic Art Center
Columbia University, Computer Music Center
Harlem School of the Arts
Master Drawings New York
NY Artist Equity Association
Street Corner Resources
The Met
West 135th Street Tenant Association
Initiatives Powered by The West Harlem Art Fund
NP/10 is our new exhibition space on Governors Island for The West Harlem Art Fund. It includes four gallery rooms, a photo studio, a sound room, a crafting studio, a country kitchen with a garden and outdoor raised beds.
Uptown Pops is a new works-in-progress series that is dance focused. Performances will circulate in locations around the City. The public will be able to comment and engage with choreographers All venues will be open and accessible to the public.
Visual Muze is a unique storytelling residency and retreat. It provides visual artists, performance artists, multi-media designers, and writers the opportunity to explore narrative forms within collaborative projects, works in progress, guest lectures, and crafts.
STAFF
Savona Bailey-McClain currently lives and works in New York City. She is an independent curator and producer. The range of McClain’s practice has included sculpture, drawings, performance, sound, and mixed media. McClain is the Executive Director & Chief Curator for The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. a twenty-two year old public art organization and curatorial collective serving neighborhoods around the City. Her public art installations have been seen in the New York Times, Art Daily, Artnet, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post among others. McClain has installed works in Times Square, DUMBO, Soho, Governors Island and Harlem. Noted works include The H in Harlem, Counting Sheep, Story Piles, East River Flows and Loosely Coupled. McClain is a registered local historian with the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, a member of Art Table and radio podcast host for State of the Arts NYC heard on several audio platforms.
CURATORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
William Daniels is an independent curator and visual artist working primarily with textiles. His art quilts and accessories feature traditional quilt blocking and paper piecing techniques, but he sometimes utilizes nontraditional components.
He draws inspiration from urban art practice that confronts contemporary issues and is always experimenting to integrate modern archetypes with historical, societal, or spiritual topics. While some of the concepts in his work are quite unambiguous and literal, others are abstract references to the anthropological experience, individuality, or contain esoteric philosophies and historical references from the coded glyphs of ancient cultures.
Daniels was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Currently, he lives, works, and creates art in the Central Harlem section of New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from SUNY Empire State College, a Master of Science degree in Business/Project Management from New York University and is currently a PhD candidate pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in Art Theory, Philosophy and Aesthetics at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts.
Stanley Delva is an artist and arts administrator who believes deeply in building equitable communities and offering resources to strengthen underserved communities. He is passionate about supporting emerging filmmakers, visual artists, and small businesses through his freelance fundraising work. He has supported fundraising in arts based non profits like El Museo del Barrio, Cool Culture, and Brooklyn Arts Council. Stanley has been a supporter of getting the arts funded through his grant writing as well as previously serving as a grant panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), New York City’s Department for Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), and the Awesome Foundation New York City’s chapter. A Brooklyn bred, native New Yorker of Haitian descent, Stanley cherishes the Caribbean heritage seen across the city. He has received a Bachelor’s degree in English and African American Studies from Brooklyn College and a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies.
Mathieu Waldemar (he/they) is a public art curator, writer, artist, and fine arts professional. Waldemar’s curatorial interest lies in public art, commerce, creative-placemaking, and urban renewal. He believes these intersects can provide sustainable solutions against socioeconomic infrastructures that hinder racialized communities from equitably accessing local and regional cultural centers and experiences.
Linda Griggs (MFA Hunter College, BFA Virginia Commonwealth University) has curated or assisted on 12 exhibitions and two art fair booths. She directs E32, an on-going Lower East Side crit/discussion group. As an artist, she has had solo exhibitions at Christopher Stout Gallery, Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Carolyn J. Roy Gallery, New York. Group shows include the Iwami Art Museum, Japan; Wustum Museum, Racine, WI; the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter College; Gahlberg Gallery at the College of Du Page, Illinois; Albany International Airport Gallery; the New York Public Library; Cuchifritos, Vox Populi, and Bullet Space in New York; and at galleries in Philadelphia, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, Connecticut, and New Mexico. Fellowships include the MacDowell and Millay Colonies. She has received grants from Change, Inc. and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; and a residency at the Artist Alliance Inc.’s LES Studio Program. Her work is included in public and private collections including JP Morgan Chase, Peter Klein/OBAC Corporation, Ann Partlow/ Earthrise Capital, Sheila Curran Bernhard, Dr. Kenneth Meisler, David Harris, Eileen Schwab and Therese Lichtenstein.
Ana Ofelia Rodriguez was the Director of Community Development at Broadway Housing. Ms. Rodriguez joined Broadway Housing in December, 1998. She has been active in the Washington Heights and Harlem area since 1997 when she served as Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member, Guillermo Linares. Ms. Rodriguez holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from City College, a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Seville, Spain and a Ph.D. (ABD status) from Washington University.
West Harlem Art Fund is fiscally sponsored by Pentacle (Dance Works, Inc.)
Public Art
Public art for the West Harlem Art Fund can include traditional exhibitions, photo installations, storefront windows and live performances. Whether commissioned or through our festival program, The West Harlem Art Fund encourages audiences to not only think outside of the box – but to live outside the box.
New York City is our canvas. In one of the greatest cities in the world, we have the opportunity to experiment ideas, re-shape open spaces & influence community development. But West Harlem is our home. Slowly becoming a creative hub where new restaurants, ferry service, and professionals reside. Art will be a major focal point for this community that is home to great architecture & stunning views of the Hudson River.
Download Organizational Profile
Contact: westharlemartfund12@gmail.com
ADVISORY BOARD
Linda Griggs (MFA Hunter College, BFA Virginia Commonwealth University) has curated or assisted on 12 exhibitions and two art fair booths. She directs E32, an on-going Lower East Side crit/discussion group. As an artist, she has had solo exhibitions at Christopher Stout Gallery, Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Carolyn J. Roy Gallery, New York. Group shows include the Iwami Art Museum, Japan; Wustum Museum, Racine, WI; the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter College; Gahlberg Gallery at the College of Du Page, Illinois; Albany International Airport Gallery; the New York Public Library; Cuchifritos, Vox Populi, and Bullet Space in New York; and at galleries in Philadelphia, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, Connecticut, and New Mexico. Fellowships include the MacDowell and Millay Colonies. She has received grants from Change, Inc. and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; and a residency at the Artist Alliance Inc.’s LES Studio Program. Her work is included in public and private collections including JP Morgan Chase, Peter Klein/OBAC Corporation, Ann Partlow/ Earthrise Capital, Sheila Curran Bernhard, Dr. Kenneth Meisler, David Harris, Eileen Schwab and Therese Lichtenstein.
Ana Ofelia Rodriguez is Director of Community Development at Broadway Housing. Ms. Rodriguez joined Broadway Housing in December, 1998. She has been active in the Washington Heights and Harlem area since 1997 when she served as Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member, Guillermo Linares. Ms. Rodriguez holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from City College, a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Seville, Spain and a Ph.D. (ABD status) from Washington University.
Savona Bailey-McClain currently lives and works in New York City. She is an independent curator and producer. The range of McClain’s practice has included sculpture, drawings, performance, sound, and mixed media. McClain is the Executive Director & Chief Curator for The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. a twenty-two year old public art organization and curatorial collective serving neighborhoods around the City. Her public art installations have been seen in the New York Times, Art Daily, Artnet, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post among others. McClain has installed works in Times Square, DUMBO, Soho, Governors Island and Harlem. Noted works include The H in Harlem, Counting Sheep, Story Piles, East River Flows and Loosely Coupled. McClain is a member of Arttable and radio podcast host for State of the Arts NYC heard on several audio platforms.
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