Summer/Fall 2012 Download PDF - The Studio Museum in Harlem

LetterFrom theDirectorPhoto: Timothy Greenfield-SandersToday, the Studio Museum is ata crossroads—literally and figuratively.We are located on the mainthoroughfare of a neighborhoodthat, for more than a century, haspresented opportunities to a diversecollection of immigrant communities,from African Americansarriving in Harlem during the GreatMigration to more recent immigrantsfrom across sub-Saharan Africa toresident New Yorkers making theexciting move uptown. As Harlemchanges, and its cultural legacycontinues to broaden and deepen,we’re constantly evaluating how wecan best serve this neighborhood’scommunities. I think that collaborationis essential to this process.The recent opening of ourcollaborative exhibition Caribbean:Crossroads of the World (organizedwith our partners, El Museo delBarrio and the Queens Museum ofArt) has me thinking deeply aboutthe historical and contemporarysignificance of “crossroads” and thevalue of “collaboration.” Caribbean:Crossroads is the culmination ofalmost a decade of research anddialogue about a region that is—like Harlem—complex, culturallydiverse and full of art and artists.As I write this, the Museum galleriesare abuzz with Harlemites andvisitors from around the world enjoyingCaribbean: Crossroads, PrimarySources: Artists in Residence 2011–12 and Illuminations: Expandingthe Walls 2012, while our staff isplanning an amazing slate of exhibitionsand programs for thisfall and winter.I’m always being asked whenthe Studio Museum will add a newchapter to our beloved series of“F” exhibitions. I am thrilled toannounce that in November 2012we will open Fore. Building onFreestyle (2001), Frequency (2005-06) and Flow (2008), Fore onceagain provides an opportunity toexplore an amazing group of emergingartists of African descent. Likeits predecessors, Fore is not organizedby theme. Rather, we inviteyou to create your own connectionsbetween works on the Museumwalls—and beyond!While we are committed toproviding opportunities to emergingartists, another important part ofour mission is to highlight the workof artists who helped clear space,both imaginatively and institutionally,for the work being made today.Following the incredible successof The Bearden Project duringRomare Bearden’s centennial celebration,this fall we celebratethe hundredth anniversary of thebirth of noted photographer, writerand filmmaker Gordon Parks withGordon Parks: A Harlem Family1967. This exhibition features Parks’sphotographs of the Fontanelle familyfrom his iconic Life magazine feature,A Harlem Family, alongside neverbefore-seenimages from the sameseries, providing unique insightinto Parks’s creative process.And with the help of my cameraphone, I’m taking my own impromptuphotographs! You can see my snapshotsof Harlem life and details ofworks of art that inspire me on mynew Instagram feed. Search forthelmagolden to check out someof my latest images and let me knowwhat you think!I’ll see you around, and definitelyuptown!Thelma GoldenDirector and Chief Curator