Uptown Arts Stroll To Showcase Local Artists For 16th Year

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — The Uptown Arts Stroll — a month-long celebration and showcase of northern Manhattan's art scene — will kick off Wednesday, May 30, with a concert at the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling.

The opening ceremony will feature performances from locally-based groups and organizations such as the Dance Project of Washington Heights, Emi Antonio and Harlem One Stop/Samuel Coleman. This will be the 16th year that the Uptown Arts Stroll showcases the art and artists of West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.

"We are thrilled to showcase more than 300 cultural events in June during the 16th annual Uptown Arts Stroll," Joanna E. Castro, executive director of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, said in a statement.

The Uptown Arts Stroll, which will continue throughout the month of June, will feature events such as open mics, concerts, studio tours and art classes. The stroll got its start as a one-day, volunteer-organized event in 2003 and the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance has organized the event since 2008.

Each year, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance holds a design contest for the art stroll's poster. Inwood native Miranda Spencer, currently studying at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, won this year's contest. Her poster depicts "the waterways that contribute to the unique northern Manhattan landscape and the elements of uptown’s inclusive and diverse cultural scene," the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance said in a press release.

"I have enjoyed the Uptown Arts Stroll for as long as I can remember," Spencer said in a statement. "It’s an honor and pleasure to be able to contribute."

Each year the Uptown Arts Stroll honors members of the local arts scene. This year's honorees include: Director of Hamilton Landmark Galleries Kim Hamilton, award-winning author Victor LaValle and Director of Artists Unite Rosa Naparstek. Two local businesses, Coogan's and Indian Road Cafe, are also being honored with "legacy awards."

Photo by Shutterstock/Tikamporn Kaewsawaeng