Harlem Museum Launches Professional Development Program

The Studio Museum in Harlem has introduced the launch of its Arts Management Praxis, an annual six-month initiative poised to empower cultural professionals of colour and people invested in amplifying Black cultural narratives.

In response to a press launch, the groundbreaking program, meticulously crafted for early- to mid-career professionals, affords a supportive strategy to skilled progress and community-building. It underscores the museum’s unwavering dedication to redressing systemic inequities inside arts establishments.

All through its 55 years, “The Studio Museum has lengthy been dedicated to figuring out and fulfilling academic and programmatic wants throughout the humanities,” said Thelma Golden, the museum’s director and chief curator, who was the 2023 recipient of the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. “I’m particularly thrilled to welcome this program on the heels of CCL/Studio Museum in Harlem CCurators’Discussion board,” shared Golden, noting the shortage of illustration of individuals of colour in museum management nationwide.

The museum-initiated endeavor seamlessly aligns with the Studio Museum Institute’s multifaceted choices of internships, fellowships, academic practicums, {and professional} seminars. The Arts Management Praxis is particularly designed to nurture the prowess of these with 5 to seven years of museum expertise in curatorial, training, or public programming roles.

The pioneering 2024 cohort includes eight distinctive New York-based professionals chosen by way of a rigorous nomination and software course of. Inaugural members embody:

Deja Belardo, Assistant Curator, The Shed

Meredith Breech, Affiliate Director of Exhibitions, Fotografiska

Carla Forbes, Curatorial Assistant, Brooklyn Museum

Margarita Lila Rosa, Unbiased Curator

Jenée-Daria Strand, Assistant Curator, Public Artwork Fund

Tsige Tafesse, Curatorial Fellow, The Kitchen; Program Supervisor, Processing Basis

Gee Wesley, Curatorial Assistant, MoMA

Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Brooklyn Museum

By 2025, the transformative initiative will broaden its attain nationwide, fostering a various tapestry of visionaries poised to form this system’s panorama.

Since its preliminary assembly in late January, the trailblazing collective has immersed itself in enriching experiences, together with thought-provoking dialogues with esteemed curators, an exploratory sojourn to Los Angeles to have interaction with varied arts organizations, studio visits with famend artists, and intensive, immersive workshops.

As the primary Arts Management Praxis program, funded partially by the Ford Basis, approaches its conclusion in June 2024, members will convene for a networking occasion with esteemed Studio Museum Institute alums.