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Call it the second Harlem renaissance. On Manhattan's 125th St, where a statue of civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell Jr marches forward, the area is filled with bustle and buzz.

A Community in Renewal

The celebrated Apollo Theatre is undergoing significant upgrades. The National Black Theatre is preparing to move into an $80M cultural center covering a city block. Additionally, another organization recently unveiled a $250M facility containing its headquarters, affordable housing and commercial areas.

“This building says to the world: Harlem matters; Black art matters; Black institutions matter,” stated the chairman of the board of trustees. “It will serve as a beacon on this historic street, a place where creativity and community converge.”

Historical Foundation

This institution was founded by creators, activists, philanthropists and local residents to confront the systemic exclusion of Black artists from established museums. Its debut in a leased space over an liquor store in 1968, a traumatic year of assassinations, protests and societal transformation.

“This occasion resembles what it must have been like when it all began,” noted a museum leader. “The museum was born in a world of flux. Nation was split. People were marching. Artists were demanding to be seen and heard.”

Building Design

The recently completed $160M structure spans 82,000 square feet across seven floors. Designed by architectural firms, the museum represents the first custom-designed space for the institution and nearly doubles its exhibition and programme space.

The building features exhibition spaces, an expansive lobby, adaptable event areas, a dedicated education workshop, a coffee shop and shop, plus a rooftop terrace with sweeping urban vistas. An impressive staircase, clad in terrazzo, occupies the central vertical gallery.

Notable Artworks

The inaugural exhibition schedule showcases the museum's past, present and future with several key shows. One exhibition features the first institutional career survey of innovative creator an electronic art pioneer, whose illuminated works appeared in the museum's inaugural 1968 exhibition.

• An artist's late 1960s Trane pays respect to John Coltrane
• Another prominent artist's iconic work confronts invisibility and African American portrayal
• Jean-Michel Basquiat's Bayou features bold strokes and fragments of collage
• Faith Ringgold's initial narrative textile captures her neighborhood in both joyful and mournful tones

Cultural Significance

The institution's opening feels particularly significant during a period when inclusion programs, cultural institutions and the way Black history is presented face increased scrutiny. New York has just chosen a leader who personifies the city's cultural diversity, and Harlem has a special ability for making cultural revival resemble resistance.

“This community has constantly transformed,” observed a senior leader. “It's a district that has been changing since it was established. But Harlem has also been a community where African American culture has flourished.”

The museum honors its influential artist-in-residence programme with an former residents exhibition including prominent figures such as contemporary portraitist, Mickalene Thomas and Titus Kaphar. The exhibition mixes new commissions with historical pieces spanning multiple decades.

Continuing Mission

Among new commissions are sound-based works and sculptural pieces. Metal containers created by artist Houston Conwill contain private statements by seven distinguished Black Americans, originally interred in the museum's sculpture garden in the mid-1980s and now on display with plans to be opened in the year 2034.

Visitors can explore an archival presentation of images and ephemera documenting the museum's history through its shows, programs and activities over almost sixty years. This rich history includes notable occasions ranging from dignitary appearances to local presentations that together demonstrate the museum's lasting influence.