After a Seven-Year Wait, the Studio Museum in Harlem Celebrated Its New Building
Good things come to those who wait. After closing its doors in 2018 for a major renovation, the Studio Museum in Harlem is preparing to welcome visitors again when it officially reopens to the public on Saturday, November 15. Warming things up ahead of the big day, a recent gala raised more than $3.7 million for the museum. And on Friday evening, the Artist Party served as a real homecoming too.
“In so many ways, this new building is a manifestation of all that our founders had dreamed this institution would be,” Thelma Golden, the museum’s director and chief curator, told Vogue amidst the bash. “I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to shepherd the Studio Museum in Harlem into this exciting new era through the opening of our magnificent new building; the first created explicitly for the enactment of our mission and work.”
The refreshed institution on West 125th Street now encompasses 82,000 feet of wonder and discovery—and discovery was certainly at the top of the agenda for those at the pre-opening party. The guestlist included friends, supporters, and artists of the Studio Museum family. As well as alumni of the acclaimed Arist-in-Residence program—an initiative started in 1969 by artist William T. Williams to advance the work of African and Afro-Latinx artists—there were also those with work on view in the new building. Together, they walked through the doors with eager eyes and big smiles, ready to celebrate the momentous occasion and mingle with familiar faces of the Black arts community.
“While our new home has brought me so much joy, the most meaningful moments for me are, perhaps, welcoming all the artists in our community into a space that was created for them,” Golden added. “It’s a true blessing to see generations of visionary artists come together, some who have long been friends and co-conspirators, and others who are emerging within the field.”
