A Year at Home on 125th Street

A network of possibilities plays out and memories form on every floor. Visitors converse on the Stoop, linger over coffee at the Cafe, stop and chatabout an artwork in or outside a gallery, or take in the cityscape facing south on the roof terrace.

Families discuss artwork, elders share memories of visits to our former building, and descendants of those photographed in our archival exhibition share names, context, and additional images that they have lived with for years.

The rhythm of Sundays at the Museum is one of the most special encounters. At Studio Sundays, children, caregivers, friends, family, and other kin pour into the free-flowing energy. Emboldened by our educators’ brilliance, visitors make remarkable artworks and engage in conversations that tie in to what they see around them.

Our entire staff unites under a common goal and vision: to practice the multitude of ways we can all contribute to our mission of stewarding Black artists and their work.

"Every day we have a place for Black art and artists to be gathered, witnessed, and critiqued is a miraculous day." — Terrance Thomas, Founding Partner, On the Hush, OTH Songs; participant in Uptown Fridays × On the Hush Songs

"At a time when Black histories, contributions, and cultural memory are being challenged and under attack, the Studio Museum’s return is an insistence that we remain, remember, and continue to build. It is a reminder of what is possible through unity, vision, and collective care. I am deeply grateful to have contributed to this long, rich, and powerful history, and to stand within a lineage that continues to shape the future." — Yusuf Hassan, Publisher, BlackMass Publishing

"The Museum has held and nurtured me while I’ve been working away from home. The reopening sparked an interstitial flow of community and creativity that lingers in the building long after doors close." — Derriann Pharr, 2026 Artist-in-Residence, Studio Museum in Harlem

"My arts education began as a Harlem kid at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The Museum’s reopening is a joyous commitment to learning, loving, and living Black art for generations to come. Thank you to the Studio Museum, and welcome home!" — Leigh Raiford, Professor, Writer, and Curator, University of California, Berkeley; participant in Studio Salon: When Home Is a Photograph

The numerous artists whose work we represented in our first year infused the museum with so much more than paintings on the wall. Their ways of thinking permeated every day, and the artists themselves—whether with us physically or in spirit—strengthened the bonds of our community.

This community is built by relationships that stretch back nearly sixty years all the way to this very moment. The legacy of our founders, early supporters, critical partners, and early artists and staff serve as our foundation and continue to inform every decision we make.

Today, the Studio Museum is capacious enough to hold both abandon and structure: there has been yoga, dancing, DJs, parties, and thought-provoking panels in the same space. This building has offered our community multiple points of entry, formal and informal, and has been a rhapsody to witness.

"As an educator, bringing the Museum’s radical collection of Black art to the public in an accessible way is incredibly rewarding." — Cathleen Luo, Museum Educator, Studio Museum in Harlem

"After growing up in Harlem, sharing my art at the Studio Museum feels like coming home. Full circle moment." — Sterling Juan Diaz, Artist and DJ