“Bringing the Music Back Home”: The Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival 2013 (May 6 – 11, 2013)

On Tuesday, April 30th, jazz musicians, advocates, purveyors, and enthusiasts gathered at the historic Showman’s Jazz Bar on 125th Street to celebrate the commencement of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival. The Festival, now in its third season, is a superbly modern celebration of the historic clubs, stages, basements, and bars that continue to cultivate the creative character of uptown jazz. Showman’s Jazz Club is a cozy nightspot nestled within the vibrant corridor of 125th Street, and adjacent to other renowned temples of talent, such as the nearby Apollo Theater (also one of the Festival’s partners). As a legendary residence in the global neighborhood of jazz, Showman’s is a fitting place to begin the week-long tribute to all the places and peoples that encompass the formative roots and future blossoms of jazz in Harlem.

Patience Higgins

Along the wall behind the bar, Eartha Kitt, Duke Ellington, and numerous other portraits of celebrated black musicians emphasized the immediacy of meaning for the venue as a sanctuary of sound. This immediacy also resonated strongly in the words of the featured speakers, which included Laura Greer (Vice President of Programming at the Apollo), Marcia Sells (Associate VP, Program Development and Initiatives at Columbia University), Pat Cruz (Executive Director of Harlem Stage), and Robin Bell-Stevens (President and CEO of Jazzmobile). When I spoke with Bell-Stevens, who is also the daughter of legendary jazz bassist Dr. S. Aaron Bell, she emphasized the importance of nurturing the spirit of the jazz, past and present, for the community and civic audience of Harlem. Pat Cruz reinforced these ideas in her reflections that we, as a cultural community, must “bring the music back home to Harlem,” and remember not just the heritage of the expression, but also our responsibility to recognize “who we owe.”

Marc Carey

Cruz also highlighted the staunch work of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival in identifying distinguished artistic visionaries over the years, and stressed the essentiality of continuing these communal celebrations of the art form. Later, as I listened to the free-flowing, frothy notes from the Patience Higgins Trio, followed by Imani Uzuri’s soaring, celestial vocals, I was reminded of George Russell’s description of jazz as “an evolving classical music,” engaging us as individuals, and uniting our collective audio canvasses across the galaxy of sound.

The Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival will present abundant opportunities for the greater public to experience performances and dialogues from leading and emerging jazz innovators. Some highlights include Moseka House: The House that Abbey Built, a two night event celebrating the work of legendary jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring pianist Marc Cary with performances by Imani Uzuri, Kiyem Ade, Maggie Brown, and

Pyeng Threadgill (Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, 7:30PM, Harlem Stage); Live Wire: Harlem’s Musical Legacy, a discussion hosted by Harlem historian, John Reddick (Thursday, May 9, 6:30PM, Apollo Theater); Tribute to the Baby Grand featuring Lezlie Harrison (Friday, May 10, 10PM, Apollo Theater); and Geri Allen & Friends Celebrate the Great Jazz Women of the Apollo which will also feature

Dianne Reeves

  Dianne Reeves (Saturday, May 11, 3PM and 8PM, Apollo Theater). Tickets to all events are $10 or free (some with a drink minimum). Visit the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival website (http://harlemjazzshrines.org/) for more information on how to experience this invigorating, once a year, journey into the soul and spirit of jazz in Harlem.

 Ada McElroy for Harlem One Stop /May 6, 2013    

  Tickets for many of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival events are available now. For tickets and more information on the Festival and its partners, visit the Harlem Jazz Shrines' website at www.harlemjazzshrines.org and/or the organizations' websites at www.apollotheater.org, www.harlemstage.or and www.jazzmobile.org

Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival is made possible with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the City of New York Theater Subdistrict Council; the New York City Regional Economic Development Council; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, including Council members Robert Jackson and Inez E. Dickens; and the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

About the Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater is one of Harlem's, New York City's, and America's most iconic and enduring cultural institutions. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Throughout its history, the Apollo has been a champion of jazz and jazz musicians. From the historic night in 1934 when Ella Fitzgerald first won Amateur Night, to performances by Benny Carter, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway, the list of jazz greats who played the Apollo goes on and on. The Apollo Theater's new vision builds on its legacy and supports both artists and curators, who are African American and culturally diverse and emerging, mid-career and established in their career. The Apollo will continue to present historically relevant work and increase our presentations of more forward looking, contemporary work.

About Harlem Stage

Now in its 30th season, Harlem Stage has been one of the nation's leading arts organizations, having achieved particular distinction through commissioning and presenting innovative works by artists of color and facilitating a productive engagement with the communities it serves through the performing arts. Harlem Stage has a long-standing tradition of supporting artists and organizations around the corner and across the globe, including legendary artists such as Harry Belafonte, Max Roach, Sekou Sundiata, Abbey Lincoln, Sonia Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente and contemporary artists such as Bill T. Jones, Vijay Iyer, Mike Ladd, Tania Léon, Carl Hancock Rux and Jason Moran. Its education programs each year provide 10,000 New York City children with access to a world of diverse cultures through the performing arts. In 2006, Harlem Stage opened its new home, the landmarked, award-winning Gatehouse - once the source of fresh water flowing to New York City, now a vital source of creativity, ideas and culture.

About Jazzmobile

Jazzmobile, Inc., America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization created just for jazz, was founded in 1964 by NEA Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor and Daphne Arnstein. Its mission is to present, preserve, promote, and propagate Jazz - "America's classical music." Jazzmobile pioneered the concept of Jazz lecture-demonstrations and mobile Jazz performances presented across New York City, and continues to serve as a model for other Jazz music presentation-focused organizations around the country. Jazzmobile reaches approximately 100,000 people in New York City each year, consisting of multi-ethnic audiences of all ages and socio-economic levels, including the disabled. In order to reach the largest possible audience, all of Jazzmobile's programming is presented at no or low-cost cost to participants. Other outreach includes instructional workshops and panels and symposia that provide a historical framework for Jazz and its significance to American culture.
About Columbia University in the City of New York

A leading academic and research university, Columbia continually seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex global issues of our time. Columbia's extensive public service initiatives, cultural collaborations, and community partnerships help define the University's underlying values and mission to educate students to be both leading scholars and informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. To learn more, visit www.columbia.edu
.

2013 Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival Calendar
All Tickets Start at $10, unless otherwise noted

Monday, May 6, 2013

5:00 pm - Columbia University presents Harlem Jazz Shrine Dialogues: Cotton Club in Black & White and Ann Petry: The Street - Harlem in the 1940s. Cowin Theater at Teachers College. Free.

7:00 pm - Jazzmobile presents Minton's Playhouse: Legends on the Bandstand featuring A Conversation with Jimmy Heath and Stanley Crouch. One drink/appetizer minimum. Ginny's Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem.

8:00 pm - Jazzmobile presents Minton's Playhouse: Legends on the Bandstand featuring Jimmy Heath and Antonio Hart. One drink/appetizer minimum. Ginny's Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem.

9:45 pm - Jazzmobile presents Monday Night Jam Session. Musicians welcome. One drink/appetizer minimum. Ginny's Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

7:30 pm - Jazzmobile presents Minton's Playhouse: Legends on the Bandstand featuring Paul West Trio and Rashaan Carter Trio. One drink/appetizer minimum. Ginny's Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem.

8:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

10:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

11:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

7:30 pm - Jazzmobile presents Minton's Playhouse: Legends on the Bandstand featuring Junior Mance Trio and Christian Sands Trio. One drink/appetizer minimum. Ginny's Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem.

7:30 pm - Harlem Stage presents Celebrating the Sugar Cane Club of Yesteryear featuring ERIMAJ and Fabian Almazan. Harlem Stage Gatehouse.

8:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Bill Easley. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

10:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Bill Easley. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

11:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Bill Easley. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

10:00 am - Jazzmobile presents Jazz in the First Person: Fun with "The Duke" - Lecture, Lunch, Swing. Jazz historian/author/musician Loren Schoenberg hosts this performance, talk and interactive session for youth. Free. For Middle School students by invitation. The Alhambra Ballroom.

12:00 pm - Jazzmobile presents Swingin' Seniors. Lunch and performance hosted by Loren Schoenberg. Free. For Senior Citizens by invitation. The Alhambra Ballroom.

6:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Live Wire: Harlem's Music Legacy, a discussion hosted by John Reddick. Free with registration. Apollo Theater.

7:00 pm - Serenade by Jazzmobile Vocal Competition Winner. Doors open at 6:00 pm. The Alhambra Ballroom.

7:30 pm - Harlem Stage, paying tribute to Clark Monroe's Uptown House, presents Marc Cary Celebrates Abbey Lincoln with "Moseka House: The House That Abbey Built." Abbey Lincoln's former pianist Marc Cary interprets Lincoln's compositions in solo and with his Focus Trio. Harlem Stage Gatehouse.

8:00 pm - Jazzmobile presents A Night of Swinging with the Cab Calloway Orchestra, a Big Band Dance Party. Cash Bar/ Food Available for purchase. The Alhambra Ballroom.

8:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Patience Higgins & Sugar Hill Quartet. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

10:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Patience Higgins & Sugar Hill Quartet. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

11:30 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Patience Higgins & Sugar Hill Quartet. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

Friday, May 10, 2013

7:30 pm - Harlem Stage, paying tribute to Clark Monroe's Uptown House, presents Marc Cary Celebrates Abbey Lincoln with "Moseka House: The House That Abbey Built." Abbey Lincoln's former pianist Marc Cary accompanies vocalists Keith Ailer, Maggie Brown, Pyeng Threadgill, and Imani Uzuri as they pay homage toMs. Lincoln. Harlem Stage Gatehouse.

9:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Doris Spears. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

10:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Tribute to The Baby Grand with vocalist Lezlie Harrison. Apollo Music Café.

11:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Doris Spears. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

11:00 am - Apollo Theater presents Family Showtime: The Sounds of Sarah Vaughan featuring Rosena Hill Jackson, Jason Jackson and the Jack & Hill Trio. Apollo Theater.

3:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Geri Allen & Friends Celebrate the Great Jazz Women of the Apollo featuring Geri Allen & Timeline Tap Quartet, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lizz Wright, Tia Fuller, Karen Malina White, Marvin Sewell, Dormeshia and Afro Blue. Staged by S. Epatha Merkerson, narrative by Farah Jasmin Griffin with Deejay Val Jeanty. Apollo Theater.

8:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Geri Allen & Friends Celebrate the Great Jazz Women of the Apollo featuring Geri Allen & Timeline Tap Quartet, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lizz Wright, Tia Fuller, Karen Malina White, Marvin Sewell, Dormeshia and Afro Blue. Staged by S. Epatha Merkerson, narrative by Farah Jasmin Griffin with Deejay Val Jeanty. Apollo Theater.

9:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Mel Davis. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

11:00 pm - Apollo Theater presents Showman's Late Night Jazz with Mel Davis. Limited seating. Standing room available. Two drink minimum per set/per person. Free soul food appetizers are available. Showman's Jazz Club.

*Schedule and Artists Subject to Change

HARLEM JAZZ SHRINES FESTIVAL VENUES

THE ALHAMBRA BALLROOM
2116 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard at 126th Street
For information, call Jazzmobile: 212 866-4900
www.jazzmobile.org

APOLLO THEATER
253 W. 125th Street
(212) 531-5305
www.apollotheater.org

COWIN AUDITORIUM
Teacher's College
525 West 120th Street
(212) 678-3000
www.tc.columbia.edu

GINNY'S SUPPER CLUB (downstairs) at the Red Rooster Harlem
310 Lenox Avenue (between 125th & 126th Streets)
(212) 792-9001
ww.redroosterharlem.com


HARLEM STAGE GATEHOUSE
150 Covent Avenue at W. 135th Street
(212) 281-9240
www.harlemstage.org

SHOWMAN'S JAZZ CLUB
375 W. 125th Street (between Morningside & St. Nicholas Avenues
(212) 864-8941
www.showmansjazzclub.com

# # #

“Here Your Lips are Red from Fighting Your Reflection”: E-Moves 14 – Leaping Forward with Radical Moves @ HarlemStage at the Gatehouse

On a cold, calm April night in Harlem, choreographers and dancers collaboratively convened in the rapturous and enigmatic power of dance. E-Moves, the critically acclaimed dance series of Harlem Stage now in its fourteenth year, illustrates the cooperative ideas of nine exploratory choreographers. From the jarring immediacy of gunfire in the fantastic opening piece Spitting on the Sidewalk, to the wild cries of three enchantresses at the close of the complex How Is Everything?, E-Moves 14 satisfyingly explored issues of the human experience.

"Spitting on the Sidewalk" - Choreographers Germaul Barnes and Nia Love

Uniting the skillful expressiveness of Germaul Barnes, Maurice Chestnut, and Nia Love, Spitting on the Sidewalk examined the contemporary fixation on weaponry. An excerpt from the program handout demands that the viewer consider “a chalk outline on the sidewalk that any boy or girl can be buried in…a pool of blood that can be your mirror…here your lips are red from fighting your reflection…here prayer is a broken ladder that you will climb anyway.” Throughout the piece, these printed tenets unraveled flawlessly in the penetrating movements of Love, Chestnut, and Barnes. At an early point, a black box is passed silently between the three, appearing to symbolize the lineage of oppression as a shared black experience. Later, suspended moments of silence and dense motion point to a deep core of emotionalism; an emotionalism, of alienation and frustrated consciousness, that is reminiscent of Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth.



"Ajjkkoiaujdz " - Choreographers Satoshi Haga,  Nelida Tirado, and Adia Whitaker



Ajjkkoiaujdz, assembled through the choreographic team of Satoshi Haga, Nelida Tirado, and Adia Whitaker, commenced a migration into the meaning of identity. As a “journey into awakening, faith, commitment, and connection to the things we can’t see but know exist,” Ajjkkoiaujdz felt illusory, playful, and natally familiar, but at times lacked cohesion. Despite the thematic missteps, the group’s physical intensity flowed lucidly across the stage like undulating brushstrokes. The ability of Whitaker, Tirado, and Haga to translate the hopeful futility of life and death into a surrealistic landscape is an ocular accomplishment.

"How is Everything" , Choreographers Marguerite Hemmings, Nathan Trice, and Hattie Mae Williams

Once the intensely folkloric How Is Everything? introduced the final section of the night, the monochromatic scenes of the first two acts blossomed into a rhythmic representation of the romance, sex, and commitments intrinsic to our experiences. Guided by the choreography of Marguerite Hemmings, Nathan Trice, and Hattie Mae Williams, How Is Everything? seems to pose a double-edged question and statement. Several moments of the piece played into its organic nature. Williams’ solo dance with spinning champagne bottles provided an invigorating highlight, as did the concentrated sexual provocations of the male duo. Ultimately, the strong and subtly subdued shifts of movement demand that we address the normative conventions of marriages, of commitments, and of ourselves.

E-Moves 14 continues with its third, and final, performance this Friday, April 19th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 General/$16 Members. This is your last chance to experience exciting new works from some of the city’s most innovative choreographers, so don’t miss out! www.harlemstage.org


The closing evening of E-Moves 14 (Saturday, April 20 at 7:30pm) will commemorate the phenomenal series with a “Harlem Stage Takeover,” featuring emerging artists throughout (and outside) the Gatehouse. The “Takeover” will end with a DJ-dance party for all dancers and audience members.

Tickets to the “Takeover” are $10 with purchase of an E-Moves ticket, and are available through the Harlem Stage Box Office (212-281-9240). http://www.harlemstage.org/event/e-moves-14-the-takeover/

Review by Ada McElroy for Harlem One Stop

Devotion Triumphant: Restoring Harlem's Historic 'Dalmatian-Style' House!

Earning a mere two billion dollars last year Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is characterized as, "a minor U.S. manufacturer of household products that is based in Princeton, New Jersey..." Manufacturers of several well-known brands, including Pepsodent and Trojans, it is by far best known for its Arm & Hammer line which includes baking soda and many other items made with it.

The company unified two enterprizes created by John Dwight and his brother-in-law, Dr. Austin Church of Connecticut. Their partnership had begun in 1846 with the two founders selling sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, that they refined in Dwight's kitchen. The arm and hammmer logo was derived from the Vulcan Co. of Church's sons, which had formed a part of the Church and Dwight merger.

Read complete article: (Source: Mr Michael Henry Adams' Style & Grace )

And related article by Uptower, December 26th: Keepers, Pillars, Poets and Baking Soda: Alleged Fraud and Unholy Restoration at a Harlem Landmark

 

Indie Artists Shine at Apollo Music Cafe

Singer, Justine Skye, rocks the
Apollo Cafe Stage.

The internationally renowned Apollo Theater, with its rich Harlem history, is known the world over for its strong ties to music, and other cultural arts. The amazing talent that has blazed its stage bolsters a collection of the most phenomenal performers the world has ever known.

The Apollo has always been a place where even talented unknowns, as well as emerging, and established performers could come and share their gifts. It is indeed no wonder that the Apollo continues to carry on this legacy, giving us a myriad of experiences ranging from comedy shows, the infamous Amateur Night, and its latest offering the Apollo Music Café.

The charismatic, Amanda 'Diva' Seales
stood as host during a special edition,
Apollo Music Cafe event,
amply titled, The New Class.       

The Apollo Music Café pulls together some of the most versatile and forward- thinking artists, and audiences alike. This intimate setting features an array of diverse performances that spans the scope of music genres.

Giving so freely of themselves, these artist display their musical gifts without hesitation or restraint.  Through the Apollo Music Cafe these musicians are given an opportunity they usually are not afforded, encouraging them to continue striving; for the love of music.

This monthly series serves as a platform for some of the most talented artists from the independent music scene. These artists, destined to impact the way music is heard and experienced, offer  an undefined genre mixed musical experience that leaves audiences yearning for more.

To view this season’s line-up head over to http://www.apollotheater.org/cafe.

Watch as Sene, backed by the eclectic band, Recess, serve the Apollo Music Cafe audience some of their soul-wrenching, head-banging sound.

To experience more of the sounds and scenes at the Apollo, you can also check them out via SocialCam, and Twitter, @ApolloTheater.

By: CJ Sylvester

Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) Sculptor, Harlem's Ralph Ellison Memorial

Sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, a U.S. expatriate renowned for her dignified portrayals of African-American and Mexican women who was barred from her home country for political activism during the McCarthy era, has died. She was 96.

Maria Antonieta Alvarez, Catlett's daughter-in-law, said the artist died Monday in a house in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where she had lived since 1976.

Born in Washington, D.C., Catlett moved to Mexico in 1946, became friends with great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and others in his circle, and married Mexican artist Francisco Mora.

She became known for her commitment to winning greater rights for blacks, women and workers in the United States and her adopted country. Catlett witnessed almost every important artistic and social movement of the 20th century and traveled in some of the same illustrious circles as the great American artist Jacob Lawrence and poet Langston Hughes.

She was arrested during a railroad workers' protest in Mexico City in 1958 and in 1962 the U.S. State Department banned her from returning to the United States for nearly a decade because of her political affiliations.

Working in wood, stone and other natural materials, she produced simple, flowing sculptures of women, children and laborers, and prints of Mexicans and black Americans that she used to promote social justice.

Catlett, born on April 15, 1915, was raised by her mother, a teacher, because her father, who was also a teacher, had died little before she was born. She said she knew from age 6 that she wanted to be an artist.

She attended Howard University where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in art and then got her master's at the University of Iowa where she was student of Grant Wood, painter of iconic "American Gothic." Wood told his young student to make art about what she knew best.

Catlett took his advice to heart and began making images of strong and beautiful black women, making signature issues of racial identity, family dynamics and social and political struggle.

Studying ceramics at the Art Institute of Chicago, she met her first husband, painter Charles White in the early 1940s.

Samella Lewis, author of a book about Catlett, was a student of hers around the same time at Dillard University in New Orleans who was inspired by her activism.

"It was my first time meeting a real aggressive woman in my life," Lewis said.

Photo top: Elizabeth Catlett, May 1, 2003 in New York. Catlett stands in front of her sculpture honoring acclaimed author Ralph Ellison erected opposite his longtime home at 720 Riverside Drive, West Harlem.

HARLEM DEMOLISHED: The Home to "WELLS" & JAZZ History....

A HARLEM treasure that is no more, as a historic building at 169 West 133rd Street is demolished.

"The night life was fabulous. The corner saloons, back rooms jumped, you know, places Like Hotcha and Mike's and little places that had back rooms. You'd go into Hotcha and Bobby Henderson was playing the piano, Billie Holliday was singing. You'd go across Lenox Avenue to the little bar across from Harlem Hospital and Art Tatum was playing the piano. Ethel Waters was here. The place just jumped. Dickie Well's place on 133rd Street. God, some of the names escape me. Tillie's Chicken Shack. Gladys Bentley's Place. And you sort of did a tour."

- From a WPA Oral History by Artist, Charles Alston

“Wells,” with their famed, "Chicken & Waffles"was one of Harlem's most noted late night hang-outs. Prior to having them as tenants the building at 169 West 133rd Street was home to a club called, “The Nest”, which was housed in the basement, where another successful hang-out had been housed there.

According to a documentary presented by Thirteen.org:

"The Nest, which until little over a week ago padlocked behind the doors of an abandoned building on a quiet residential block, was arguably one of New York City’s greatest unsung cultural landmarks. The development of jazz as an artistic movement in the city is linked to this spot, which opened on October 18, 1923, in the basement of what was then a barbecue club.

In its heyday, during the height of Prohibition, the Nest hosted some of the most popular names in Harlem. It also attracted super star patrons like Mae West. Eventually more speakeasies opened in basements along the same block as the Nest, fostering a culture of clandestine drinking and improvised performance for a mixed audience of black and white club goers alike." ...

Photo credit: Carl Van Vecthen, Beineke Collection, Yale University

Artist Faith Ringgold Exits Harlem Museum Broadway Housing 155th Street Project

By ROBIN POGREBIN
Published: New York Times, February 12, 2012

A museum was to be named after Faith Ringgold.

The Faith Ringgold Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling was to be part of a new development on 155th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue and include affordable housing. The building was to be designed by the British architect David Adjaye — who was commissioned for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington — and include a performance space, a library, a store and a cafe.

The museum will still have all those things — except for Ms. Ringgold’s name.

In December she announced that she had severed ties with the nonprofit organization behind the project, Broadway Housing Communities, because, she said, it had not provided for security, insurance or storage for art.

“I have no way to participate if it’s not a museum,” said Ms. Ringgold, 81, in a recent telephone interview. “I have no interest in a children’s museum if it’s just a playpen, like most of them are.”

Broadway Housing, which provides low-income housing and support services, said it remains fully committed to creating a serious museum and was sorry to see Ms. Ringgold go.

“I have tremendous respect for Faith, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she inspired the concept, and I will always credit her input,” said Ellen Baxter, the founder and executive director of Broadway Housing. The organization said it had not been able to address Ms. Ringgold’s concerns up front because it was focused on designing the building and closing on sources of funds to start construction.

“The first steps are zoning, architects, assembling financing,” said Mary Ann Villari, the managing director of the group. “You don’t place fine arts insurance until you have art and the building built.”

Now Broadway Housing says it is about to file an amendment to its charter to allow the organization to operate a museum. It said it had obtained preapproval from the New York State Board of Regents to have a museum; formed a board of directors; and planned a search for a museum director, to begin this spring. Officials said the museum will have a $1.7 million operating budget and 15 full-time staff members.

Barbara Hoffman, Ms. Ringgold’s lawyer, expressed skepticism. “It is not even clear that a housing corporation can run a museum,” she said.

Broadway Housing’s relationship with Ms. Ringgold started about seven years ago with their collaboration on “The 9/11 Peace Story Quilt,” which was designed by Ms. Ringgold, made with New York City students and recently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The hallways of the organization’s Upper Manhattan headquarters are lined with Ms. Ringgold’s work, and the idea for a museum, officials said, was hatched in conversations with her.

The $75 million project is to be financed through tax credits, subsidized government loans and donations.

Ms. Ringgold said the project secured public approvals and raised money based on her reputation. “I gave them lists of people I knew in the art world,” she said. “Some of those people gave money to them thinking I was involved.”

As an example Ms. Hoffman pointed out that Broadway Housing in November 2010 billed a benefit for the development and museum as a celebration of Ms. Ringgold’s 80th birthday.

“Faith is one of the most prominent African-American artists and is known for her work with children as an educator,” Ms. Hoffman said, adding of Ms. Baxter, “Ellen piggy-backed on that.”

Ms. Villari of Broadway Housing said, “There are no funds contingent on Faith’s involvement.”

In December Ms. Hoffman wrote to alert the Oak Foundation, one of the project’s supporters, that Ms. Ringgold was no longer part of the museum. “Whether Broadway Housing Communities will ultimately create a museum rather than a community art gallery and cultural center is not clear,” Ms. Hoffman said in her letter. “What is clear is that Ms. Ringgold’s collection and name will not be a part of whatever occurs.”

The Oak Foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, said on Friday that it will continue to support the project. “The museum, designed to serve children and families, is a natural extension of Broadway Housing’s model to build vibrant, enriched and supportive communities,” it said.

The new museum will follow a kunsthalle approach, borrowing from established cultural institutions and showing one major artist in its main gallery for a year. It will also have educational programs, including art-making classes, officials at Broadway Housing said. They added that they could not get Ms. Ringgold to give them a firm sense of how much art she anticipated giving them and under what terms.

“We could never get a straight answer,” Ms. Baxter said.

Mr. Adjaye said he was sorry that Ms. Ringgold was no longer involved. “I’m a big fan of Faith, I went to her studio,” he said. “I was saddened because she’s an important Harlem icon and was one of the attractions in making the project attractive to me.”

At the same time, he said, the new building is important in its own right. “My project is about the community, not the individual, to challenge the notions of a public project,” he said. The building will “really show that social housing projects with a mixed-use program can become beacons in communities rather than projects that are tolerated.”

The building, to begin construction this month, is expected to be completed by early 2014. The museum will now be called the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling.

Broadway Housing is still hoping Ms. Ringgold reconsiders and decides to be part of the project. “It’s sad,” Ms. Baxter said. “We want to honor the commitment to the community that we’ve made, and we’d love to have Faith join us in that commitment. But we’re not going to walk away.”

Ms. Ringgold said she has moved on. “This thing is a disappointment, but it has inspired me to create a Faith Ringgold online museum,” she said. “I’m not falling into the doldrums. I have other opportunities.”