New Public Art Lands In Harlem In Time For Fall

HARLEM, NY — As the weather cools down, Harlemites can enjoy the crisp autumn air by visiting some of the several new public art exhibitions that have arrived in the neighborhood.

Spread across the neighborhood's parks, they include photo galleries and a striking, nine-foot bronze statue. Here's a rundown of Harlem's new public art installations.

Photoville

The citywide series of free photo galleries is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with installations across the five boroughs — including several in Harlem. All are on view until Dec. 1.

One installation, "Faces of Harlem," is on view in four Harlem parks; Morningside, Jackie Robinson, Marcus Garvey and Rucker Park. Each site features portraits of Harlem residents that document "who we are today, 100 years after the Harlem Renaissance."

The project began earlier this year, when Harlem artist Sade Boyewa El invited nine other photographers to take portraits of their neighbors — "in hopes of inspiring meaningful conversations, fostering connection, and bridging some of the many visible gaps in our community," organizers wrote.

Another gallery, "Been Seen," is based in St. Nicholas Park and showcases the works of seven Black photographers: the Harlem-based photographer Austin Hansen, who died in 1996 along with contemporary artists Dario Calmese, Cheriss May, Flo Ngala, Ricky Day, Gerald Perat and Mark Clennon.

A selection of Hansen's enormous body of work is shown "in conversation" with the other artists', exploring themes of "identity, Black experiences, visual culture, and portraiture," organizers said.

Statue in Marcus Garvey Park

Meanwhile, starting this week, visitors to Marcus Garvey Park may have come across a nine-foot bronze figure of a young Black man, shown gazing down at his cell phone.

"Thomas J Price: Witness" is on view at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem! Visit our website for more details about this landmark presentation.https://t.co/zPLynJZZ7o
— The Studio Museum in Harlem (@studiomuseum) October 4, 2021

The sculpture, "The Distance Within," is part of a new exhibition by the British sculptor Thomas J. Price, through the Studio Museum. Installed on Sunday, the striking figure will remain on the north side of the park until Oct. 1, 2022.

The work represents a dialogue between Harlem and Price's own neighborhood of Brixton, London, which is also historically Black. As a Black man, Price says Harlem held a special significance as he designed the new artwork, which explores blackness and Black masculinity.

"The grand size of the sculpture celebrates a familiar everyday form rarely monumentalized within a public setting," the Studio Museum wrote of the sculpture. "Simultaneously, the scale works to take up space, to occupy, to hold presence, to bear witness."

Flowers in East Harlem

Constructed out of acrylic yarn and zip ties, "Flowers of Turtle Island," by artist Naomi Lawrence, was installed in August at Eugene McCabe Field, located on Park Avenue just east of Marcus Garvey Park.

Measuring 28 feet long and 10 feet high, the work depicts North American native flowers including Goldenrod, Lady-Slipper orchids, Black Eyed Susan and Blazing Star Liatris. Organizers selected the sitein part because it will be visible for Metro-North commuters, as well as patients and staff at the nearby Henry J. Carter nursing facility.

Lawrence's work will be on view until Aug. 1, 2022. It was curated by Connie Lee, founder of Art Lives Here and former president of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance.