Studio Museum in Harlem reopens after seven-year redevelopment

The Studio Museum in Harlem reopens on 15 November in a new building following a seven-year project.

The museum, which was founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists and philanthropists, has played a huge role in promoting the work of artists of African descent.

The 82,000-square-foot building on Manhattan’s 125th Street, designed by Adjaye Associates with Cooper Robertson as executive architect, cost $160m. It covers seven floors and includes a range of galleries, a large lobby, spaces for programming, and an education centre.

Located in the heart of Harlem, the new venue replaces a century-old commercial building that the African American architect J Max Bond Jr adapted in 1982 for the Studio Museum.

Thelma Golden, Ford Foundation director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, said: “This moment is deeply rooted in the collective vision of our founders, whose aspirations continue to guide us.

“As we take this historic step, I look forward to welcoming our communities into a transformed museum – where we will continue the work that defines us on a scale that reflects the magnitude of our mission.”

The museum opens with a presentation of the work of artist, educator, and activist Tom Lloyd, who was the focus of the Studio Museum’s first exhibition, Electronic Refractions II in 1968.

The Studio Museum will hold a series of thematic displays featuring its permanent collection throughout its first year of opening. Works will span from the 1800s to the present, highlighting more than 200 years of work by artists of African descent.

The museum holds nearly 9,000 artworks and represents artists including Romare Bearden, Dawoud Bey, Jordan Casteel, Barkley L Hendricks, Rashid Johnson, Seydou Keïta, Norman Lewis, Wangechi Mutu, Faith Ringgold, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and many more.

There will also be display of new works on paper by more than one hundred alumni of the artist-in-residence programme.

Throughout the opening year, the Studio Museum will also unveil a range of commissioned artworks and returning site-specific projects that will respond to the new building’s spaces.

And an archival display of the museum’s history will showcase historical documents, archival video, media, and programming ephemera. This exhibition will explore the museum’s development, from its former building on Fifth Avenue to its new site on 125^th Street. The aim is to show how communities have engaged with and defined the institution throughout nearly 60 years of cultural, political, and societal change.

The venue features a rooftop terrace that has views of the surrounding area, with landscape design by the Harlem-based firm Studio Zewde.