Events

To mark the centennial of the start of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of creativity that transformed African-American arts and culture in the 1920s and '30s, Jeffrey C. Stewart discusses The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Alain LeRoy Locke (1885-1954). Known as the "father" of the Harlem Renaissance, Locke was a renowned academic and queer philosopher whose cultural impact continues to resonate today. Stewart will consider Locke’s tremendous influence on the artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance and his new aesthetic philosophy of urbanism in the black city. Following his presentation, Stewart will be joined in conversation by Harlem style intellectual Lana Turner, co-founder and chair of The Literary Society.

The inaugural Jazz Icons of Harlem - A Series Celebrating American Cultural Innovators will honor some of Jazz music’s most legendary names including Mary Lou Williams, Philippa Duke Schuyler, George Gershwin and Billy Strayhorn with a special commemorative celebration of their vast contributions to American culture held on each of their respective birthdays

In celebration of the Harlem Renaissance centennial, the second iteration of the Wallach Art Gallery’s Uptown triennial, Uptown 2020, will present works by contemporary artists who have been inspired by this important expression of modernism. Contemporary works will be exhibited alongside several historical works.

Blacks in Opera: The Journey - A conversation on the challenges, successes, and endurance required for Classical Music-Opera. Harlem Opera Theater presents the journeys of Dr. Gregory Hopkins, Artistic Director; with interviews and operatic selections by Carami Hilaire, Soprano and Darian Anderson Worrell, Baritone, Vocal Competition, first place winners singing selections from the operas, Macbeth and Aida, by composer Giuseppe Verdi.

In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance, the Harlem Shakespeare Festival in partnership with the Harlem Cultural Collaborative present THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST set in 1920’s Harlem. With high style, dynamic dialogue and the music that changed a nation, two young gentlemen, living in Harlem and Westchester, have taken to bending the truth in order to put some excitement into their lives.