PROJECT GALLERY

As a project in its initial phase, The Black Arts Cultural Center seeks to establish itself as an institution in Harlem that serves as a site for regularly occurring public programs, as well as artistic and scholarly production. This initial iteration of preplanning will be informed by research, which will take the form of conversations with cultural creatives and Harlem community members, mapping current and historic cultural spaces, and site visits to existing cultural institutions. At a time when Black life is being profoundly censored, it is critical that the connections between Black cultural and intellectual production are reified and celebrated. Accordingly, the proposed research will clarify Harlem’s precedent as an instigator of cultural production at a global scale and elucidate the neighborhood’s next phase. It will help reframe the neighborhood’s cultural and intellectual value as forward-facing and actively growing, thus buttressing the need for expanded preservation and community-led development.