Tickets: Free & Open to the public.
Talkback RSVPs open January 16, 2024
Address: 237 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
The gallery exhibition opens on February 1, 2024 and will be free and open to the public through April 30, 2024.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 6pm
Genre: New Works
Conversation, Visual Art
Gallery Opening & Talkback
Celebrate the opening of The Apollo’s Victoria Theater with this visual exploration of Black artists and creativity from the 1950s through the early 2000s. Photographer and gallerist Alex Harsley’s exhibition details the visual history of Black creative spaces in NYC.
From The Victoria to The Village: A Visual History of Black Creative Spaces includes stunning photography and documentary footage including The 4th Street Photo Gallery’s rare colored photographs of The Jewel Box Review at The Apollo in the 1950s alongside other iconic moments at The Apollo and around Harlem then moving downtown, and everywhere in between.
This exhibition showcases Black art collectives, individual artists at work in their studios, and the camaraderie of Black artists throughout their communities. Dawoud Bey, Harsley’s mentee who began his career in Alex’s The 4th Street Photo Gallery, is an advisor on this project.
Following the gallery opening at 6:30pm in The Apollo’s Laura & Frank Baker Gallery, stay for an intimate talkback at 7:30pm with curator and author Halima Taha. RSVP is required, space is limited.
The gallery exhibition opens on February 1, 2024 and will be free and open to the public through April 30, 2024. Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 6pm
From The Victoria to The Village: A Visual History of Black Creative Spaces is a part of The Apollo’s Winter 2024 season and commissioned as a part of The Apollo’s New Works initiative. Apollo New Works is generously supported by the Ford Foundation with additional funding from The Mellon Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
ABOUT APOLLO NEW WORKS:
The Apollo New Works initiative expands upon The Apollo’s mission to support the creation of new work by Black artists. The multidisciplinary emerging and established artists who the organization has commissioned and provided space, time, and resources will create, develop, and present work across The Apollo stages, including The Apollo’s Victoria Theater, which will serve as the main incubation space.
Tickets & Important Information
Gallerry Exhibition is free and open to the public. Talkback RSVPs open January 16, 2024.
This event will take place at The Apollo’s Victoria Theater located at 237 West 125th Street (between Adam Clayton Powell & Frederick Douglass Blvd).
Please contact The Apollo Box office at [email protected] or (212) 531-5305 if any other special assistance is required for your visit.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dawoud Bey
Dawoud Bey
Dawoud Bey, born in Queens, New York, is a celebrated Chicago-based photographer known for his evocative portraits and community connections. His journey began with Harlem, U.S.A. in 1975-1979, leading to a lifelong exploration of diverse photographic methodologies. From street photography with a 35mm camera to formal 4 x 5 and 20 x 24 Polaroid portraits, Bey’s work evolved. He actively engages communities and institutions, as seen in Class Pictures (2002-2006), challenging stereotypes. Recent projects like “The Birmingham Project” (2013) and Night Coming Tenderly, Black (2017) focus on history and memory. Bey, a MacArthur Fellow, holds a Yale MFA and is a professor at Columbia College Chicago. His work is featured in numerous publications and exhibitions, residing in prestigious museum collections worldwide.
Alex Harsley
Alex Harsley
Photographer and gallerist Alex Harsley is a record keeper and holder of stories. He has curated The 4th Street Photo Gallery and The Minority Photographers non-profit since the early 1970’s. His own reportage style of photography started in 1958 as the first Black photographer for the New York City District Attorey. Since that time he has continued to capture the true intimate moments and personality of New York City. His collection contains the historical lineage of musicians, politicians, street folk, landscapes and neighbors from the 1950’s through the present day. His documentary medium includes film, digital photography and digital sound and video.
Halima Taha
Halima Taha
Halima Taha, an art professional with expertise in curatorial, art advisory, appraisal, and strategic planning, is renowned for her groundbreaking bestseller, Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas. This pioneering work validated fine art, printmaking, and photography by Americans of African descent as valuable assets in the marketplace. Her book served as a PBS membership incentive, surpassing fundraising goals threefold. Taha’s contributions laid the foundation for the first international African-American auction category at Swann Galleries in 2008 and encouraged major museums to actively pursue African American art collections. A passionate arts advocate and professional speaker, Taha holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and New York University, along with USPAP compliance and memberships in ArtTable and the College Art Association. Her diverse experience includes co-owning a NYC gallery, directing the Gordon Parks Gallery, and curating for Scott Kaplan Gallery.