Studio Museum in Harlem

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Studio Museum in Harlem

The nexus for artists of African descent since 1968. The Museum was originally located in a rented loft at 2033 Fifth Avenue, just north of 125th Street.
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The Studio Museum in Harlem was founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists and philanthropists who envisioned a new kind of museum that not only displays artwork but also supports artists and arts education. In 1979, the New York Bank for Savings gave the Museum the building located at 144 West 125th Street. The Studio Museum in Harlem is internationally known for its catal

ytic role in promoting the works of artists of African descent. The Artist-in-Residence program was one of the Museum’s founding initiatives, and gives the Museum the “Studio” in its name. The program has supported more than one hundred emerging artists of African or Latino descent, many of whom who have gone on to establish highly regarded careers.

05/28/2026

Our spring/summer issue of Studio is out!

The cover commemorates the late artist Melvin Edwards by featuring one of his lithographs, “For Giza” (1991), which references the Nile metropolis famed for its three pyramids and the Sphinx.

This issue celebrates the Studio Museum in Harlem's journey from our fall 2025 grand reopening to today. Learn about our newest site-specific installation, Kapwani Kiwanga’s “BLEED” (2026); read a roundtable discussion between the curators of “Fade,” the sixth installation of our landmark “F” show series; get to know our current cohort of artists in residence; discover works in our permanent collection that center all things sports; and revisit a few of our major institutional events and milestones.

Select articles from Studio will be available on our website, while Studio Museum Members, Advocates, and above will receive a physical copy.

Learn more about our 2026 Studio Mag here: https://bit.ly/3PNzY5W

05/26/2026

On June 13 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm, join the 2026 artists in residence, Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons, as they open their studios to the public.

Visitors are invited to meet the artists and be among the first to view their works in progress. Conceived at the formation of the Studio Museum over fifty years ago, the Artist-in-Residence program remains central to the Museum’s mission—being a pillar for artists of African descent locally, nationally, and internationally.
Open Studios is free and open to all.

🔗 Register for the event: https://bit.ly/4nRXGe6

Image credits: Derriann Pharr. Photo: Derriann Pharr; Simonette Quamina. Photo: Cody Hanu; Taylor Simmons. Photo: Anthony Hilliard

05/22/2026

Our summer 2026 Studio Museum in Harlem brand collection is now available in-store and online at !

This new collection features:

🧢 A plush, splash-friendly bucket hat, available in both black and white colorways
👜 An XL Boat Tote for all your beach-day necessities
🚰 A stainless-steel water bottle
👕 A 100% cotton Studio T-shirt

Every Studio Store purchase supports the Studio Museum and our mission of championing Black artists.

🔗 Shop our summer 2026 collection: https://bit.ly/4dyGtS1

Psst...stay tuned for more limited-edition Studio releases coming soon 👀.

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📸: Jens Mortensen

05/21/2026

What are the benefits of becoming a Member at the Studio Museum in Harlem? 💭

Hear from Qadira Farrington, our Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving, as she breaks down the perks of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Membership program! Studio Museum Members will receive unlimited free admission to the Museum, invitations to exclusive exhibition previews and programs, discounts at Studio Cafe and Studio Store, and access to the Harlem Discount Program with local partner businesses.

🔗 Become a Studio Member today: https://bit.ly/4bPKOAH

05/20/2026

The Studio Museum in Harlem mourns the passing of artist, activist, and educator Mary Lovelace O’Neal (1942–2026). ❤️🕊️

O’Neal’s six-decade artistic career was rooted in both Minimalism and Expressionism, fusing gesture, unexpected materials, and personal mythology into monumental paintings that explored themes such as racism and social justice, often with long, poetic titles.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, on February 10, 1942, O’Neal was always drawn to the arts. She studied art at Howard University from 1960 to 1964, with mentors such as David Driskell and Loïs Mailou Jones. It was also during this period that O’Neal was active in the civil rights movement, attending labor protests, marches, and voting-rights registration drives, and co-founding student organizations to fight for racial equality.

During the summer of 1963, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where she first encountered lampblack, a dry-powder pigment that would become essential to her practice. According to Marianne Boesky Gallery, in her renowned “Lampblack” series (1960s–1970s), O’Neal used the material to create giant, velvety, monochromatic canvases with underdrawings and thin lines of pastel or oils across the composition.

After completing her MFA at Columbia University in 1969, Lovelace O’Neal taught as a professor at various institutions, including the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts, Humboldt State University, and the University of California, Berkeley, where she was the first Black woman to be awarded tenure in its art department in 1985. Lovelace O’Neal’s artworks have had an impact on contemporary art and the history of Abstract Expressionism, having been shown in exhibitions worldwide and influencing generations of artists.

The Studio Museum honors Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s legacy and her artistic practice. We send our condolences to her family and loved ones.

05/18/2026

Happy ! 🏛️

Today, we join institutions around the world honoring the power of museums to spark curiosity, preserve culture, and build community. Since our founding in 1968, the Studio Museum in Harlem has championed Black artistic expression, created space for Black stories to be seen, heard, and celebrated, and served as an anchor for our neighborhood.

Thank you to every person who walks through our doors, discovers our exhibitions, engages with our programs, and supports our mission.

This is , yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

05/17/2026

We spy with our little eye something tiny…👀

Something miniature…🔍

Welcome to “Small-Scale,” our third-floor exhibition presenting a selection of artworks under no larger than 20 × 20 inches from the Studio Museum in Harlem’s permanent collection

Jewel-like and intimate, these works counter the reasoning that equates size with significance. They invite close-looking and the awareness of the artist’s hand that comes with it.

🔗 Discover “Small-Scale” and the rest of our spring exhibition season today! Book your ticket; https://bit.ly/4eSG8fq

Image credit: From Now: A Collection in Context (installation view), 2026. Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. Photo: Kris Graves

05/15/2026

Reflecting on our first 100 days on 125th 🏛️

In our first seven months after reopening in November 2025, the Studio Museum in Harlem’s brand-new home has seen an outpouring of love and appreciation. With visitors traveling from around the world, this extraordinary response has reaffirmed that the Studio Museum is not just a building but a vital cultural space in Harlem. .

Consider a gift to our Studio Museum Fund today; your support is critical in fueling our exhibitions, artist residencies, public programs, and beyond.

🔗 Learn more about our Studio Museum Fund and Membership program: https://bit.ly/4txCX07

05/13/2026

What led to the genesis of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s renowned “F” shows?

In the first episode of our new audio series, “Unpacking: Fade,” Thelma Golden and Christine Y. Kim discuss “Freestyle” (2001), the first exhibition in the “F” show series and a landmark in defining contemporary Black art. We learn about how this inaugural "F” show came together and the excitement of presenting the sixth edition of this series, “Fade,” in the Museum’s new purpose-built home.

Listen to the full conversation: https://bit.ly/4dhOISq

Produced with Sound Made Public, “Unpacking: Fade” invites you to learn about “Fade” by hearing from current and past curators of the “F” shows and the artists in “Fade.”

New interviews will be released throughout the exhibition until September 6, 2026.

05/12/2026

Don’t forget to submit your 2026–27 Artist-in-Residence application by May 18! ⏱️

The Studio Museum’s Artist-in-Residence program offers an eleven-month residency to three local, national, or international artists of African descent working in any medium.

The 2026–27 Artist-in-Residence program will run from November 2, 2026, to October 3, 2027.

Learn more on our website and apply to the program by May 18, 2026, 11:59 pm ET: https://bit.ly/4tvdd4G

Address

144 West 125th Street
New York, NY
10027

Telephone

+12128644500

Website

http://www.studiomuseum.org/

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