EVENTS 2023
Seattle Art Museum Collection
Image courtesy of the artist,
Copyright Barbara Earl Thomas
On Sunday, January 22, 2023, Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund and her organization will present a panel discussion for Master Drawings New York at the Academy of Arts and Letters.
According to Bailey-McClain, “This is our 4th year participating with Master Drawings New York. We have broadened the definition of what masterful art looks like and the artists who create such works. I am delighted to keep these conversations going so we can gain new collectors”.
New Narratives in Museum Collections
Moderated by: Savona Bailey-McClain
Date: Sunday, January 22, 2023
Time: 1 pm
Location: Academy of Arts and Letters, 633 W. 155th Street, NYC 10032
A museum’s life is renewed through the exchange of fresh perspectives from cultures and traditions around the world. Diversity can be achieved through museum staff who are capable of communicating these stories to a broad audience. Currently, there is a movement to purchase these artworks and show them all over the country. Who is driving this effort?
In contrast to museums, art dealers are often able to take risks. This can lead to the discovery of hidden treasures or new talent. There are many relationships that dealers use to achieve the goal of encouraging museums and collectors to buy works that are not commonly seen by the public.
Panelist: Barbara Earl Thomas, Sanjay Kapoor and Norberto Rivera
LOCAL MEDIA PARTNER
OCTOBER EVENTS
Meet Metalsmith Artist & Jewelry Designer Ayala Naphtali
Jewelry designer Ayala Naphtali draws inspiration from ancient alphanumeric systems, contemporary architecture and her own personal, cultural history. She is intrigued with balance and proportion and feels that each of her pieces must find its axis on the wearer. She creates work with elegance and minimal, bold forms, precious metals and alternative materials.
October 1st & 2nd, 2022 12pm – 4 pm
Meet Photographer Gregory Harris
Gregory Harris is a Toledo-born artist based in Brooklyn since completing studies at Bowling Green State University where he focused on cinema studies & fine art photography. This study of the image, image-making, and their relationship with day-to-day society, has informed a decade-long practice of photography and filmmaking.
October 1st & 2nd, 2022 12pm – 4 pm
Make Some Noise!
Outdoor Tap
Free Event
All are welcome to the series of interactive Percussion Dance Workshops. We will be using rhythmic steps, clapping, and an occasional shout out to explore sounds and create new dances or re-invent old ones. No previous experience required. No tap shoes required. Stop by and make some noise!
Workshop leaders Megan Haungs and Toes Tiranoff combine elements of jazz tap percussion, swing dance, vaudeville, comedy, and puppets in their shows. They have performed at LaMaMa E.T.C., Town Hall, NYU, Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, Dixon Place and Bryant Park’s Piano in the Park.
Music: Commemorating the late Pharoah Sanders. Each day we will be presenting the workshop twice–12:30 pm and 2:00 pm.
Monoprint Workshop October
Led by artist Red Sagalow, monoprinting is a type of printmaking where the goal is to create one unique image. The art form is very personal and it’s sometimes compared to improvisation that’s central to jazz. No experience necessary to enjoy a fun filled afternoon.
Sign up October 8th or 22nd at https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/monoprint-workshop-early-october
or https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/monoprint-workshop-early-october
Natural Dye Workshop
October 15th
Short Description: Led by Artist Jaleeca Yancy, studio resident of Art Crawl Harlem, Botanical Dyeing is a creative way to connect with nature and learn a craft skill that will turn your fabrics and clothing into beautiful works of art. Take part in making a textile using flowers and plants from the West Harlem Art Fund Garden to culminate in a community fiber collage installation. No experience necessary.
Register online — https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/natural-dye-workshop-october-15th
SEPTEMBER EVENT
WEST HARLEM ART FUND PRESENTS FALL EXHIBITION “ART THAT MARKS TIME” ON GOVERNORS ISLAND, NOLAN PARK
NEW YORK, NY… This fall an exhibition with multiple narratives and compelling tales that touch on design, print, sculpture and even metalsmithing will envelop the exhibition space NP/10 (Nolan Park, Building 10B) of the West Harlem Art Fund on Governors Island.
The organization is focusing on traditional arts & design that they hope will bring the public closer to these mediums and inspire them to learn more and possibly collect.
The setting on Governors Island is most ideal. A country experience with multiple garden areas, hammocks, wild birds, stunning waterfront views and short ferry ride that encourages the public to engage.
West Harlem Art Fund will also host workshops that they treat as “public residencies” where the public has hands on experience with monoprinting, experimental photography, fiber arts and performance.
Traditions
Design
Metalsmithing
Performance
Photography
Print
Sketch Art
Sculpture
Textile
Artists
Domenico Belli — sculpture/outdoor garden
Gilbert Boro — sculpture/outdoor garden
Joe Gitterman — sculpture/outdoor garden
Valerie Hallier — mixed media
Gregory Harris — photography
Megan Haungs — Performance/Tap Dancing
Molly Must — Metal Sculpture
Ayala Naphtali — Metalsmithing/Jewelry
Felipe Ortiz — Sketch Art
Christopher Quinones — Print
Rachael Rosenblum — Furniture Design
Red Sagalow — Print
Dianne Smith — Print
James Robert Southard — Sketch Drawing
Toes Tiranoff — Performance/Tap Dancing
Jaleeca Yancy — Fiber Arts/Natural Dyeing
Silver Fleece by William Hooker
A suite for the “outdoors” – composed of six parts which features original composition and improvisation.
Silver Fleece, commissioned by Harvestworks and funded by NY State Council of the Arts is experimental new music on the cutting edge of jazz. This FREE performance will take place on Saturday, September 3, 2022 at 3 pm.
RUN TIME OF PERFORMANCE: An hour and ½ (approx.)
Building 10a and 10B, Nolan Park, Governors Island
The Ensemble: William Hooker, drums/composer
On Kaa Davis, guitar,
Hans Tammen, guitar,
Kevin Ramsey, electronics ,
Theodore Woodward, electronics
SUMMER EVENTS
Zine Workshops
Saturday, August 27th,12 pm – 4 pm
Sign up — https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/zine-workshop
Fans for the Cure is pleased to announce the unofficial Opening Day of our charity’s signature awareness and fundraising activity – “The Catch.”
The Atlantic League is donating baseballs, and Fans for theCure will provide classic Spaldeen Hi-Bounce pink rubber balls. Bring your glove… or not.
If you’d like to make a donation, we won’t stop you. But it’s not necessary. After all we’ve been through, we think this is just a great excuse to get together on what will surely be a gorgeous Sunday afternoon to catch up with one another in one of New York City’s landmark locations.
Enjoy a baseball catch and glorious day of fun, food trucks and ferry.
“The Catch” is a chance to share an emotional experience with someone who means the world to you — all for a good cause. Only a catch allows you to both socially distance and deeply connect at the same time.
West Harlem Art Fund is a proud partner of this charity event.
Zine Workshops
Saturday, July 30th and August 13th 12 pm – 4 pm
Sign up — https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/zine-workshop
Outdoor Country Style Dinner
Friday, August 12th, 7pm – 9pm
Sign up for our 1st Outdoor Country Style Dinner on Governors Island. Make it a date night! Catch up with friends. Everyone will have a fine time. Enjoy heritage rice bowls and farm fresh salad by Chef JJ Johnson owner of Fieldtrip in Harlem and Earth Matter.
Sign up — https://westharlemartfund.bigcartel.com/product/outdoor-country-style-dinner
You’ve got me in stitches
Sunday, July 24th, 12 pm –3pm
In Nolan Park on Governors Island, knitters will converge on House 10B (affectionately known as NP/10) for a day of sun, fun and KNITTING.
Ladies & Gents can bring their favorite yarns and needles. Visitors can enjoy outdoor sculptures, backyard and garden. A great way to beat the heat. Meet new friends. Bring old friends and engage in a creative tradition that goes back centuries.
Guests can arrive at noon. Children are welcomed too!
About Knitty City
Opened in January, 2006, Knitty City is the realized dream of Pearl Chin, who designed it as a “Yarn Studio” on the Upper West Side. It is devoted to beautiful materials for knitting and crochet, instructional classes and community connection.
Knitty City is committed to the people behind the yarn and designs, with a shared passion for artistry.
Knitty City’s selection of yarns reflects some of the best brands in the business. New and interesting yarns, and the products that complement them, are always popping up at Knitty City. In addition, the store has one of the most comprehensive and up to date collection of knitting, crochet and needle art books, magazines and patterns in New York.
About the West Harlem Art Fund
West Harlem Art Fund (WHAF) is a twenty-four-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.
New York, NY… NY Classical is embarking on an initiative to develop original plays for production: “new visions” of what we call “classics.” In 2022, we are presenting a series of developmental play readings as part of this New Visions program. These scripts come from some of this generation’s most creative playwrights—each prompted by a brilliant story from the past. “We can’t wait to share fresh adaptations that span the centuries with you”, said Stephen Burdman, Founder and Artistic Director of NY Classical Theatre. Director Savona Bailey-McClain believes “new narratives that reflect a diversity of people and cultures” are vital.
Playreading on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 12 pm in Nolan Park, Building 10B on Governors Island. Sign up for a FREE reservation at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35099/performance/11023915?performanceId=11023915
A Medusa Thread by Candrice Jones
In the world of a purgatorial beauty shop, Medusa gives customers one last hair do before they transition to their after-life. According to the accents of the characters, Medusa’s beauty shop, “Cathartic Moments,” in The Mall of Purgatory seems to hover over the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. It depicts mature themes including consent, assault, Mythology, and the hereafter.
Playwright Bio for Candrice Jones
Playwright, poet, and educator Candrice Jones is from Dermott, Arkansas. She writes love letters for and to women of the American South. Candrice is a VONA Playwriting alum and CalArts Critical Studies MFA recipient. She is the author of the full-length plays Crackbaby (2010 Wasserstein Prize Nomination) and FLEX (developed at the 2020 Humana Festival of New American Plays). She has been a resident fellow at Ground Floor housed by the Berkeley Rep, the Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival, MacDowell’s Colony of the Arts, and Djerassi’s Colony of the Arts. Candrice lives and works in Minneapolis where she has received a 2019-20 Many Voices Fellowship and a 2020-21 Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights’ Center.
Acknowledgements
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. NY Classical’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. NY Classical’s New Visions is made possible with support from the Howard Gilman Foundation.
The West Harlem Art Fund and Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds, located in Old Lyme, Connecticut, presents 16 artists this spring on Governors Island in Nolan Park. Through the exhibition Life Turned Inside Out, current events are viewed with an emotional lens.
This exhibition shows works that offer hope for those facing today’s challenges in contrast to controlling life and bending circumstances to our will. What are the important issues facing humans today — home, environment, climate, mental health, family, heritage, community, war, and finding joy. How do we build roots and appreciate the colors, shapes, and people around us?
For this show, the setting is just as critical as the art. America has become increasingly concerned about relevancy. Building #10 (NP/10) is an instrumental component of Governors Island’s historic district, and it defines the eastern edge of Nolan Park. As such, its preservation is crucial for preserving the character of the historic district. Nolan Park, or “The Green” as it was called in 19th century documents, is a grassy, lawned enclosure with tree-shaded walks where Native Americans used to live before the Dutch arrived.
Life Turned Inside Out will be on view from May 1, 2022, through June 26, 2022. Public hours are 12 pm to 4 pm on the weekends. Private viewings during the week are by appointment.
A concurrent exhibit with garden, In Defense of the Human Spirit, will feature Domenico Belli, Gilbert Boro, and Joe Gitterman, whose outdoor sculptures will be on display from April 30th (International Sculpture Day) to October 31, 2022.
Artists
Gilbert Boro — sculpture
Melita Cekani — painting
Chandler Davis — sculpture
Joe Gitterman — sculpture
Bryan Gorneau — painting
Linda Griggs — painting
Valerie Hallier — painting & installation
Allen Hansen — painting
Elizabeth Knowles — sculpture
Conrad Levenson — sculpture
Elaine Lorenz — sculpture
Elizabeth Miller McCure — sculpture
Dario Mohr — painting
R. Douglass Rice — sculpture
Margaret Roleke — sculpture
Dianne Smith — painting & installation
Who were the Strivers
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 3pm
Meeting location: 515 Malcolm X Blvd (135th Street)
Row houses were considered tract homes for the middle and upper-middle classes. New York counts over 200,000-row houses across the City. Once derided as too modern and artificial at the end of the 19th century, these homes are highly sought after now.
The St. Nicholas Historic District was originally known as the David H. King Model Homes or the King Model Houses. Four rows and three architectural styles — Italian Renaissance, Georgian and Yellow Brick facades with limestone. Built from 1891 to 1893, these homes remained empty until after World War I. Black families from the South and the Caribbean could finally purchase these homes after years of push back. Learn who lived here and how they became known as Strivers in this FREE Jane’s Walk. Understand how row houses transformed NYC forever. Register with the Municipal Art Society.
Central Harlem’s Little Known District
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 1pm
Meeting location: 130th Street & Lenox Ave (North Corner)
The Central Harlem Historic District is a fairly new designation. It spotlights little-known Black history. Several Black charities like the Clubman’s Beneficial League and the Utopia Neighborhood Club found homes in this district. Many Black entertainers like James Reese Europe, of WWI fame, lived here. The district shows that a tight-knit community once lived and still lives in Central Harlem. They supported each other and made sure they could enjoy a rich, quality of life. This FREE Jane’s Walk will be led by Savona Bailey-Mcclain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund. Register with the Municipal Art Society.
Mexican Muralism and its American Impact
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
633 West 155th Street
Friday, January 28, 10 am
Panel Discussion with Q&A
Moderated by Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director & Chief Curator, The West Harlem Art Fund
Panelists
Esther Adler, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings & Prints, MoMA
Leon Tovar, Director, Leon Tovar Gallery, NYC
Dr. Orlando Hernández-Ying, Rockefeller Brothers Fund Curatorial Research Fellow for the Hubert & Mireille Goldschmidt Works on Paper Fellowship, Hispanic Society Museum & Library
Panel Description
War dominated the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe. New political ideologies — socialism and communism, also added tensions. Art responded by turning its focus onto the common man and woman in natural and urban environments.
The Americas were impacted as well with cries for change. In Mexico, a ten-year revolution offered an opportunity for Mexico to acknowledge its pre-Hispanic past with a new blended population. Art became the medium to spark emotions and share with pride epic tales of how this blended world was to take shape.
The Mexican Muralism Movement embraced European traditions of drawing and frescoes with social realism and new aesthetics that swept into North America. Our panel will discuss these impacts and the artists whose mark still moves us today.
View Behind the Scenes at HSA video here. See how we unpacked Orozco drawings at the Hispanic Society. These works will be featured in a special exhibition for Master Drawings New York 2022. Registration link here.
NYAE Annual Members Invitational
OPENING RECEPTION: JAN. 13TH, 6 — 8 PM
JURIED BY: SAVONA BAILEY-MCCLAIN,
NOAH BECKER, AND MELISSA STAIGER
Featured Artists: Amy Bassin, Carol Diamond, Patricia Fabricant, Linda King Ferguson, George Goodridge, Susan Hensel, Steven Anthony Johnson II, Toshiko Kitano Groner, Lisa Lebofsky, Carla Lobmier, Christina Massey, Kellyann Monaghan, Susan Reedy, Deborah Sherman, Susan Stillman, Christopher Stout, Sue Strande, Ellen Weider, and Siyan Wong.
Equity Gallery is pleased to ring in 2022 with the NYAE Annual Members Invitational, the latest iteration of our annual juried group exhibition, exclusively featuring artwork by Rose, Emerald, and Lifetime members of New York Artists Equity. The exhibition is Equity Gallery’s first new show of the new year and will run from January 12th through February 5th.
The nineteen artists featured in this year’s show are Amy Bassin, Carol Diamond, Patricia Fabricant, Linda King Ferguson, George Goodridge, Susan Hensel, Steven Anthony Johnson II, Toshiko Kitano Groner, Lisa Lebofsky, Carla Lobmier, Christina Massey, Kellyann Monaghan, Susan Reedy, Deborah Sherman, Susan Stillman, Christopher Stout, Sue Strande, Ellen Weider, and Siyan Wong.
All artworks in this exhibition were selected by a panel of accomplished artists and arts professionals, including Executive Director/Chief Curator of the West Harlem Art Fund Savona Bailey-McClain, artist and publisher of Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art Noah Becker, and visual artist, educator, and independent curator Melissa Staiger.
The Annual Members Invitational celebrates both New York Artists Equity Association’s legacy and history by highlighting the artworks of its current members. Artists Equity was founded in 1947 by over 160 prominent American artists, including art world luminaries such as Jacob Lawrence, Louise Nevelson, and Edward Hopper, and continues to be an influential and guiding organization for artists today. The organization is composed of a diverse community of artists, patrons and allied professionals who view themselves as cultural stewards, charged with advancing the professional aspirations of emerging practitioners.
History In Da Key Of G
Building a “Recovery for All of us”, is the intention of this transformative, intergenerational, collaborative engagement called “History In Da Key Of G”. Led by stage actress Cniambi Steele, this creative workshop, will equip participants with simple tools with which to empower themselves. Participants are encouraged to delve into their personal universe of the family, uncovering treasured memories. Participants utilize data they cull from history geography, and personal P.O.V. Music in a lively experience.
Make Some Noise!
Interactive Percussion Dance Workshops
All are welcome to the series of interactive Percussion Dance Workshops. We will be using rhythmic steps, clapping, and an occasional shout out to explore sounds and create new dances or re-invent old ones. No previous experience required. No tap shoes required. Stop by and make some noise!
Each day we will be presenting the workshop twice–1:00-1:50 pm and 3:00-3:50 pm.
SCHEDULE
Sunday 10/3
Percussive Dancing to 1930’s Big Band music
Saturday 10/9
Making music with “stuff”–combining percussive dance steps with sounds made from every-day stuff–paper bags. spoons, household containers, etc.
Sunday 10/17
Percussive Dancing to 1950’s – 1960’s early rock and roll / rhythm and blues
Workshop leaders Megan Haungs and Toes Tiranoff combine elements of jazz tap percussion, swing dance, vaudeville, comedy, and puppets in their shows. They have performed at LaMaMa E.T.C., Town Hall, NYU, Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, Dixon Place and Bryant Park’s Piano in the Park. While touring the Pacific Northwest they performed in theaters and community centers and led dance workshops in Washington State, Oregon and Idaho. They were long time students of Chuck Green, the “Godfather of Tap” and were mentored by Buster Brown, who performed with Duke Ellington. Megan was a member of Frankie Manning’s “Wednesday Night Hoppers” and performed at the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the City of New York. Toes was a member of Mama Lu Parks Jazz Dance Theater Company and tap danced at Carnegie Hall.
September 18th & 19th, 2021
Artist Gabriel Rodriguez will be offering natural dye workshops on Governors Island at The West Harlem Art Fund building situated in Nolan Park (Building 10B). The workshops will be open to the general public, no experience necessary. During the workshops participants will learn the basic techniques, materials, and processes of natural dyeing. They will each dye and leave with an organic cotton mesh shopping bag that will be provided to them. Alongside learning about the craft of natural dyeing I will impart the ethics, impacts, and philosophies of natural dyeing by touching upon subjects of sustainability, circularity, environmental consciousness, and material origins. The workshop will also take advantage of its location at Governors Island by getting to know the various dye plants that are being grown at Nolan Park.
This FREE workshop is a great opportunity for NYC residents from different boroughs to gather and view the NYC environment as a shared place to care for. As we’ve become more aware of the growing strain on the environment we live in, my intention with the workshop is to not only share the pleasure of natural dyeing but also focus on the positive ecological impact we can make with our choices as citizens of this magnificent city. Offering this workshop at Nolan Park provides a Covid-19 safe environment with the ability to work outside in the open air. All materials will be included for the workshops. Some light snacks and refreshments will be provided.”
West Harlem Art Fund is pleased to present Elements, an exhibition that features up and coming artists in September to the public in the historic district of Nolan Park (Building 10B) on Governors Island.
Drawing inspiration from the Native American proverb, We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children, curator Savona Bailey-McClain, carefully selected artists for this show with a light touch. Nature is blended throughout the entire exhibition with paintings, digital mapping, sound, sculpture and design.
The artists are Sagarika Sundaram, Yi Hsuan Sung, Yalan Wen, Valerie Hallier, Michele Brody and mural artists Kraig Blue.
Hours are 12 pm — 4 pm by appointment only per Mayoral Executive Order. Please email westharlemartfund12@gmail.com to schedule time and share proof of vaccination.
This August, West Harlem Art Fund, Visual Muze Storytelling Residency and Katharine Pettit Creative present Uptown Pops — a dance series that will be performed in Nolan Park and Castle Williams on Governors Island. The works-in-progress are a part of a new interactive initiative designed to engage public audiences as they respond to developing dance.
Performance dates are August 15th and 22nd in Nolan Park with a special performance in Castle Williams on August 29th. Island visitors can see the works at 1 pm and 4 pm.
Special repeat performance on September 26th in Nolan Park.
Funding for UNTITLED GIRL NARRATIVE was made possible by a grant from City Artist Corps. Special thanks to National Park Service for permission of Castle Williams.
PAST EVENTS
LATE NIGHT ON GOVERNORS ISLAND
Friday, July 23, 2021 & JULY 30, 2021
6-9 pm
The West Harlem Art Fund is starting a FREE membership club for new collectors. Meet artists and talk with them about their practice. Sign up for gallery tours and art fairs. Meet art dealers, develop your own collecting style. Share your finds with other collectors in a relaxed environment.
Come on Governors Island to our exhibition space in Nolan Park, Building 10B (NP/10). Enjoy light salads. Hang out in our backyard, view sculptures or sit on our porch.
We hope to see you there!
May 1, 2021 — June 25, 2020
WE ARE IN REACH
Gallery Exhibition and public art on Governors Island at NP/10 (Nolan Park, Building 10B)
Spring exhibition that features the artists Dario Mohr, Kraig Blue and Jannette Jwahir Hawkins. Outdoor sculptures feature Gilbert Boro, Michele Brody and Conrad Levenson.
Enjoy our audio We Are In Reach where you hear from the artists directly. Download the FREE app Otocast. It’s best to hear it on the island but you can hear it from afar. Many thanks to Eric and Otocast.
IN PLAIN AIR
Outdoor classes on Governors Island at NP/10
May 22nd — Intro to Botanical Drawing
June 19th — Intro to Still Life Drawing
Two hour instructions; Reservation is required. Donation $35 (includes drawing pad and pencil set)
Purchase tickets here
Literary Reading with NY CLASSICAL THEATER
December 18, 2020 — April 11, 2021
MEMORY OPUS I (our 1st museum exhibit)
Presented at the Museum of the City of New York in New York Responds: The First Six Month — Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave, NY, NY 10029
Memory Opus I is a sound work derived from COVID Diaries POC, an ongoing oral history project conceived by the West Harlem Art Fund and artist Nadia DeLane. Capturing the voices of people of color in quarantine, Memory Opus is a collection of poignant interviews touching on events surrounding the pandemic, identity and global calls for social justice. Music is by Caleigh Drane.
CURRENT UNDERCURRENTCurated by Linda Griggs & M. Charlene Stevens – University of Massachusetts Amherst Hampden Gallery
On view here: February 1 – May 14, 2021
CURRENT UNDERCURRENT is a visual conversation relating to current events such as COVID-19, gender (LGBTQIA+, masculinity) racial justice (Black Lives Matter), and climate change. The show addresses these issues through the shared anxiety of a divided nation and a partisan political climate. There are no clean divisions in these issues. COVID-19 and climate change have more devastating effects on Black and brown people. A California wildfire began with a gender reveal party’s pyrotechnics. Toxic masculinity has fed the anti-masker movement. The boundaries are permeable and the issues intersect and overlap.
Artists: Wide Awakes, Savona Bailey-McClain, Kimberly Becoat, Sanford Biggers, Linda Byrne, William Camargo, Renee Cox, Nadia DeLane, Patricia Fabricant, David Rios Ferrera, First Americans Art: Masked Heroes: Roberta Atabaigi; Doloros Gull; Pilar Agoyo, For Freedoms, David Frye, Allen Hansen, Rashid Johnson, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Lisa Levy, Pamela Longobardi, Steven Mallon, Christina Marsh, Jamie Martinez, Steve Mumford, Sherilyn Neidhardt, Shellyne Rodriques, Katarra Peterson, Duke Riley, Ricardo Robinson (La’Vender Freddy), Arlene Rush, Kathleen Vance, Jeff Vespa, West Harlem Art Fund, Adrian White, Avivia Rahmani & Dr. Jim White.
January 29, 2021
Artists of African & Mulatto Descent — 18th to 19th Century
MASTER DRAWINGS NEW YORK
Free Zoom event
11 am
See video here
A panel discussion led by Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the West Harlem Art Fund. Joining McClain is William Keyse Rudolph, Ph.D, Deputy Director, Curatorial Affairs, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Virginia Anderson, Ph.D., Curator of American Art, Baltimore Museum of Art; Paul H. D. Kaplan, Professor of Art History at Purchase College, SUNY, Daniel M. Fulco, Ph.D., Curator for the Museum of Fine Arts — Washington County and Philippe Halbert, Ph.D. candidate, Yale University.
This virtual discussion will spotlight the talents of seven mixed-race artists who lived and studied in either the United States or Europe. Panelists will discuss what influenced these people to become artists and what their impact on world politics entailed.
The artists are Prince Demah Barnes, Grayton Tyler Brown, Robert S Duncanson, Julien Hudson, Joshua Johnson, Mary Edmonia Lewis and Eugene Warburg.
First Lady Jill Biden selected artist Robert S. Duncanson and his work as the inaugural painting. See here.
February 16, 2021
Growing Rice: A Migration Story from Seed to Plate
8pm — Zoom event
Rice around the world is thought of as Asian. But rice is just as African as it is Asian. Oryza glaberrima was cultivated from wild rice that needed humans when the Sahara was drying. That knowledge fueled the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade where Africans were brought west.
Rice dominated the United States and particularly South Carolina for two hundred years by these African slaves. When Black culture migrated north, Harlem became its capital. A mecca where traditions could be preserved and human rights championed.
Spend an evening learning about rice with curator and historian Savona Bailey-McClain, culinary historian & author Michael Twitty, JJ Johnson, chef of the rice restaurant FieldTrip, and rice farmer Nfamara Badjie. Learn how the culture of rice has impacted Black culture as we trace its roots from Africa and the Caribbean to the American South.
Gullah food is one of the oldest world traditions being practiced in America today. It is about ancestral ties and American living, adaptability, and creativity.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
The year 2020 is very special. Four American centennials are being celebrated across the country. Yet there’s another centennial that is not American but has impacted this nation deeply. In 1920, the Mexican Revolution ended. The government was trying to figure out how best to unify the country after the war. What was decided — bring back an art tradition that dates before Columbus and for which the people loved. Murals have depicted everything from historical events such as wars to religious ceremonies like human sacrifices.
Mexican artists like Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros revitalized the Italian fresco style because it cemented their beautiful works with powerful messages, permanently in public spaces.
During the Depression, the Roosevelt Administration created the WPA and the Federal Arts Project to also unify this country. Our government wanted to show how it could positively impact our population and get them back to work.
Many famous artists like Jackson Pollack, Arshile Gorky, Mark Rothko and including African American greats like Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Charles Alston, Aaron Douglas, Hale Woodruff, and Elizabeth Catlett participated.
This talk will elaborate on this special time at the Throckmorton Fine Arts Gallery in midtown and moderated by Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director & Chief Curator, West Harlem Art Fund.
Throckmorton Fine Arts Gallery
145 East 57th Street, 3rd Floor
New York NY 10022
3 p.m.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
A ROUNDED VIEW — Artist Talk with Dianne Smith and Kraig Blue on select works being shown at Master Drawings. Hear perspectives from artists of color on European art. Moderated by Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
CROSSING THE SANDS
NP/10 (NOLAN PARK/BUILDING 10)
Governors Island
Saturdays and Sundays
August 24th — October 27th, 2019
12 pm — 5 pm
The West Harlem Art Fund is pleased to present Crossing the Sands, a contemporary art exhibition with artists representing the Caribbean, Africa, and the Americas. Located in the historic district of Nolan Park on Governors Island, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy both works of art and the venue which is an old military home completed in 1878.
Artists include: Jasmin Charles, Chioma Ebinama, Megan Gabrielle, Iliana Garcia, Scherezade Garcia, Juanita Lanzo and Dianne Smith.
This show is curated by Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director & Chief Curator of the West Harlem Art Fund.
Upcoming LIVE Talks/Podcasts & Events
October Schedule
LIVE Talk w/Film Premieres
— HOME & UTICA
Saturday, October 5th, 2019 @ 2pm
Nadia DeLane is a multimedia designer and visual storyteller working in installation, film, digital and fine art. DeLane has produced creative content for organizations and institutions including the School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design, Stone Lantern Films and Turnstone Productions. She has consulted on several award-winning animated films and documentaries and her work has been featured in online publications such as AI-AP’s Design Arts Daily (DART).
DeLane’s documentary film, HOME, tells homegrown stories of first and second-generation Latin@, Caribbean, and West Indian Americans as they reveal truths about assimilation and American culture.
UTICA is an original film about thought. A community is in turmoil as its members sort through telepathic messages. A self-hating telepath must decide whether he will protect the public or safeguard his own mind.
LIVE READING
Three Skeleton Key
Sunday, October 27th, 2019 @ 2pm
“Three Skeleton Key” is a short story by the French author Georges-Gustave Toudouze. The January 1937 edition of Esquire marked its first appearance in English. This suspenseful tale and “Leiningen Versus the Ants” were discovered by the magazine’s editor Arnold Gingrich.
Georges-G. Toudouze (1877-1972) was born in Paris, France. His father, Gustave Toudouze, was a well-known author of the time. The younger Toudouze wrote on such topics as art, architecture, travel and French naval history. Although he penned numerous adventure novels and short stories, he is today remembered for a single work: “Three Skeleton Key.”
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