Studio Museum in Harlem Presents Photo Exhibition Through Motion and Repose: Expanding the Walls 2026

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HARLEM, NEW YORK, NY, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026 — The Studio Museum in Harlem announces Through Motion and Repose: Expanding the Walls 2026, featuring work by the seventeen young artists in the 2026 cohort of the Museum’s teen photography program, Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History, and Community. In this edition of the annual exhibition, the artists capture both vibrant scenes on the streets of New York City and personal, intimate moments within the home. Seen together, the images record motion and repose, fundamental elements to the artists’ experiences as young people growing up in New York.

Through Motion and Repose: Expanding the Walls 2026 will be on view from July 1, 2026, through January 31, 2027, in-person at the Museum and online at https://expandingthewalls.studiomuseum.org.

Established in 2001, Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History, and Community is a cornerstone program of the Studio Museum that teaches photography to teenage artists based in New York City and helps them define their artistic practice through workshops, gallery and museum visits, and discussions led by contemporary artists. For eight months, participants engage with photographs dating from the Harlem Renaissance to the present, with the archive of famed photographer James Van Der Zee (1886–1983) serving as an entry point to studying works by contemporary artists such as Dawoud Bey, Harlan Bozeman, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Cameron Granger, Elle Pérez, Texas Isaiah, Andre D. Wagner, and Carrie Mae Weems. Within this framework, Expanding the Walls participants think critically about the representation of culture and community, explore the creative history of Harlem, and strengthen their relationship to people and place.

This year, Expanding the Walls welcomed participants who live across Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, and whose educational backgrounds range from enrollment at preparatory, transfer, private, and public schools. The 2026 participants are Fairooz Ahamed, Isabella Amankwa-Jones, Agnes Baidoo, Keyaris Canty, Rijika Chowdhury, Jony Pineda Feliz, Lalah Harper, Nathaly Lopez Alvarez, Yoselyn Lucero, Nyasia Massey, Valentina Megraw, Stephanie Muñoz, Ismael Parache Henry, Janelly Rosendo, Christopher Soriano, Angel Torres, and Jordyn Vargas.

Two works from the Museum’s James Van Der Zee Study Collection, Parade on Seventh Avenue in Harlem (1917) and Capital Grill Restaurant, Seventh Ave (c. 1940), were selected by the cohort to be displayed alongside theirs and will be on view at separate times during the exhibition, enabling a cross-generational dialogue around Van Der Zee’s visual commentary on community and representation.

Thelma Golden, Ford Foundation Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, said, “Now that we have opened, we are delighted to once again present the annual Expanding the Walls exhibition inside the Studio Museum and welcome the work of these young artists into our galleries as they pose questions and ideas evoked by the world around them. We are also proud to continue presenting the exhibition in its online format so that people everywhere can admire these wonderfully moving and evocative photographs.”

Through Motion and Repose: Expanding the Walls 2026 is organized by Cam McEwen and Taylor Ndiaye, MoMA/Studio Museum in Harlem Curatorial Fellows; Maria Wilson, Robert Rauschenberg Curatorial Fellow; and the Expanding the Walls 2026 participants. Exhibition support provided by Jayson Overby Jr, Assistant Curator; with Ally Caple, former Expanding the Walls Coordinator; and Alexandra Nelson, School and Educator Coordinator.

Related Programming
Thursday, July 2, 12:00–3:00 pm
This program celebrates the opening of Through Motion and Repose: Expanding the Walls 2026 with cohort-led photography tours, hands-on art-making activities inspired by the exhibition and the archive of James Van Der Zee, and photography and custom frame-making workshops.

Ongoing Programs
Every Sunday
There is free admission to the Studio Museum every Sunday, from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm, with Studio Sundays, a day of programs designed for visitors of all ages, including children and their families. In addition to viewing the exhibitions, visitors can enjoy talks, tours, art-making workshops, and storytime. Though admission is free, tickets are required.

Every Third Wednesday of the Month
Lil’ Studio, held every third Wednesday of the month from 10:00 to 11:00 am, is a free early childhood program that engages children and their adult(s) in reading, singing, movement, and art making to build social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and language development. Parents, caregivers, and organizations caring for little ones under five years old are invited to enjoy activities that encourage creative time and bonding. Preregistration is required.

Teen Studio, held every third Wednesday of the month from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, is a free drop-in art-making program for teens aged fourteen to eighteen. Participants build community, learn collaboratively, and create together through projects centered on art and artists of African descent. No prior art experience is necessary, and snacks and supplies are provided. Preregistration is required.

Support for Expanding the Walls
Expanding the Walls is made possible with support from the Keith Haring Foundation Education Fund; Joy of Giving Something; J. Crew; the KHR McNeely Family Foundation, Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely; Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation; William Talbott Hillman Foundation; Hearst Endowment Fund; and by the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Trust. Major support for the Studio Museum in Harlem's Learning & Engagement programs provided by the Thompson Foundation Education Fund and the Alice L. Walton Foundation Education and Engagement Endowment. Additional funding provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The Studio Museum is deeply grateful for Donna Van Der Zee’s continued support of this program.

About the Studio Museum in Harlem
Founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists, and philanthropists, the Studio Museum in Harlem is internationally known for its catalytic role in promoting the work of artists of African descent. The Studio Museum’s new home, situated at its longtime location on West 125th Street, opened to the public on November 15, 2025. Designed by Adjaye Associates with Cooper Robertson serving as executive architect, the building—the first created expressly for the institution’s program—enables the Studio Museum to better serve a growing and diverse audience, provide additional educational opportunities for people of all ages, expand its program of world-renowned exhibitions, effectively display its singular collection, and strengthen its trailblazing Artist-in-Residence program.

For more information, visit studiomuseum.org.

Visitor Information
The Studio Museum in Harlem is located at 144 West 125th Street, between Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (Seventh Avenue).

The Studio Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, with extended hours on Friday and Saturday, from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.

The Museum is open to Members on Saturday mornings, from 10:00 to 11:00 am, before the galleries open to the public.

Admission rates are offered as a suggestion, with Sundays free for everyone. Suggested rates are $16 for adults and $9 for seniors (sixty-five years and over), students, and visitors with disabilities (care partners are free). Admission is free for children sixteen and under.

Tickets to the Studio Museum may be purchased online at studiomuseum.org/visit or at the Museum.

Media Contact
Sasha Cordingley
Studio Museum in Harlem
[email protected]