The Studio Museum in Harlem

This afternoon, I visited The Studio Museum in Harlem. It was founded in 1968 by activists, artists, and philanthropists with the aim to create a place for the exchange of ideas about art and society. The Museum si located on 144 West 125th Street – in the heart of Harlem, since 1979 when the New York Bank for Savings gave the location to the Museum, that was previously based in a rented lost at the north of 125th Street.

The Studio Museum is internationally well known and it is considered one of the main centers for the promotion of the art creates by African descents. It has almost two thousand operas – from drawings to watercolors, from sculptures to installation, from paintings to photographs. Some of the operas are part of the permanent exhibition, others are temporarily donated by artists and/or collectors.

Visiting the Studio Museum means walking through the past and meeting the present. Several paintings illustrate the 1970s’ climate, characterized by a new sense of confidence in the recognition of civil and political rights. Actually, the exhibition also includes photographs taken during the movement Black Lives Matter.

My curiosity was teased by the Reading Room, located on the first floor of the Museum. In this room is possible to literally sit down and read some books about current issues that involve the United States and its society. I found a couple of books very interesting: Nobody written by Marc Lamont Hill, and Citizen by Claudia Rankine.

The pace environment of the Museum allowed me to spend a pleasant time over there, admiring art and reasoning about a historical moment. Moreover, being the exhibition focused also on current issues that are aiming the society, is interesting observe how the art of photography is able to recall similarities and differences in a clear and even more impactive way than other forms of art.

I strongly suggest to visit the Museum – the admissions are free every Sunday, and here you can find additional information about opening hours and exhibitions. Check this out!

Sara Belligoni

In the picture, four postcards gave by the Museum to the visitors.