Annual Arts Stroll Returns To Uptown This Month

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — Upper Manhattan's arts community is getting ready for one of the area's biggest annual events: the 2019 Uptown Arts Stroll.

This year's arts stroll will launch with an opening ceremony at Washington Heights' United Palace Theater on Tuesday, May 28th, and will be followed by a full month of art programs, studio tours and other events that will showcase the talents of artists living and working in West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood, organizers said. The annual event is organized by the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.

More than 200 exhibits and events are planned for the month of June, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Executive Director Joanna Castro said.

"For the entire month of June, Northern Manhattan’s diverse roster of artists floods uptown’s businesses and institutions, open spaces, parks and other venues with their inspiring art," the organization's website reads.

Honorees during this year's Uptown Arts Stroll will include Mino Lora, a co-Founding Artistic Director of People's Theatre Project, Obrien Luna, a local singer/songwriter, Hike the Heights, a volunteer-run children's program and the nonprofit Dance Theater of Harlem. The film studio Warner Brothers will also be recognized for filming its "In The Heights" movie in the neighborhood this summer.

The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance also recently announced the results from its annual poster design contest. Local artist Liz Roberts won the competition with a design that emphasizes the message "Dont' Walk, Stroll" and incorporates design elements taken from the New York City streetscape such as street signs and stoplights. Roberts' design will be featured in promoting this year's Uptown Arts Stroll and Roberts received a prize of $1,250, organizers said.

Artists Alexis Agliano Sanborn and Ashanti N. Muñiz were named second and third place winners and received prizes of $500 and $250, organizers said. Sixty-nine artists submitted poster designs to the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.