"This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter. It will stand as a lighthouse on 125th Street. A space where creativity and community meet, where young people can see themselves reflected, and orders of African descent can continue to shape our history. This new chapter was not inevitable. It was earned through decades of vision, stewardship and belief."
"The Studio Museum in Harlem intentionally draws from the 'street, the stage, the sanctuary, and the stoop.' Across the city, these are familiar typologies of gathering, expression and belonging. Architect Pascale Sablan of Adjaye Associates echoed this when she said: ' It is our hope that every surface, every light-filled space, and every moment of this building will speak to you of this mission.' The museum occupies the same footprint as the earlier museum but is re-imagined for the twenty-first century."
The Studio Museum in Harlem opens a purpose-built new home to the public on November 15, 2025, located on West 125th Street. The new building replaces a commercial structure adapted in 1982 and marks the first time the museum has a home created expressly for its program. The building signals that Harlem matters, that Black art and Black institutions matter, and it will serve as a lighthouse on 125th Street. The museum provides spaces where creativity and community meet, where young people can see themselves reflected, and where peoples of African descent continue to shape history. The design draws from the street, stage, sanctuary, and stoop, reimagining the existing footprint for the twenty-first century and opening to the city through a double-height street-level window.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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