Studio Museum in Harlem Celebrates Legacy and Looks Forward at Annual Gala

On a festive Monday night, an accomplished gathering of artists, cultural and civic leaders, philanthropists, and supporters gathered at The Glasshouse to take in an evening of reflection and jubilant celebration for The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Hosted by the organization s board of trustees and gala co-chairs Jacqueline L. Bradley, Kathryn C. Chenault, Carol Sutton Lewis, and Dr. Amelia Ogunlesi, the event provided a backdrop for a grab-bag of historic moments in the museum s trajectory.

After greeting guests, including Solange and Tina Knowles, Nicole Ari Parker, and Hannah Bronfman, Thelma Golden, the museum’s director and chief curator, presented the annual Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize to Toyin Ojih Odutola. The Nigerian-American artist has a background in narrative-forward multimedia content and slice-of-life drawings.

“Toyin’s intricately depicted works in pen, pencil, charcoal, and pastel are active inquiries into the possibilities of world-building and visual storytelling,” Golden shared. “The artist therefore not only builds on a legacy of Black radical imagination, but has created her own language within this field of thought which unfolds across paper and linen.”

As the night’s sequence progressed, the event took a particularly impactful turn when Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, revealed that the foundation had awarded a ten-million-dollar endowment grant to the museum. The contribution ensures perpetual support for the positions of director and chief curator.

In remarks on the grant, Walker shared how the museum continues “to bear witness to the ways that artists of African descent are historicizing our collective past, documenting our collective present, and imagining our collective future—a world defined by powerful art and enduring justice.”

From exhibitions, including the current Pass Carry Hold: Studio Museum Artists in Residence, to those that will take shape in the museum’s new building opening next fall, the museum’s stock is in an energizing place, sealed by the festive proceedings at the 2025 gala.