Archives
The Studio Museum in Harlem Archives was established to preserve and make accessible the Studio Museum’s historical records, and to enrich and enhance the Museum’s curatorial and educational missions to champion, empower, and celebrate Black visual artists. The Archives provides a space for a critical, interdisciplinary inquiry into the past, present, and future.
Archives
Archived materials range from 1966 to the present and include documentation illustrating the Museum’s influence on the careers of artists, as well as significant primary documents regarding the establishment of the Museum.
The Archives contains over four hundred linear feet and documents the origins, development, and activities of the Museum, with records dating back to the establishment of the Museum. The collections include departmental records, exhibition records, manuscript collections, personal papers of curators and directors, and sound and video recordings of events.
Highlights of the Archives include exhibition records of the Museum’s curatorial activities starting in 1973 to the present; and the Benny Andrews Collection (1968–88), which documents the artist’s work with the Studio Museum and the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC), an artist-activist organization cofounded and cochaired by Andrews.
Access to the Studio Museum in Harlem Archives is currently restricted while we continue processing materials.
Digital Collections
The Digital Archives presents an accessible reference and research platform that complements our continued commitment to public access, community participation, and arts education in Harlem and beyond. A selection of materials related to our exhibition history can be found via the Digital Archives. There, users can find digitized checklists, exhibition catalogues, installation photographs, and press releases.
Our Digital Archives Portal is currently down for maintenance. Please check back for updates.
Credits
The Studio Museum in Harlem is grateful to the Henry Luce Foundation for their crucial support in launching the Studio Museum in Harlem Digital Archives. Ongoing support for the Studio Museum Archives is generously provided by the Hauser & Wirth Institute.