Women’s History Month At The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum Of Art & Storytelling In Harlem

Strong Girls & Brave Women is the title of a featured storytelling session and will be the theme through art and stories throughout March as the Museum Celebrates Women’s History Month.

Lauren Kelley, Museum Director & Chief Curator says “As a museum for children rooted in social justice, we strive to empower young people with the tools of art and storytelling. Women’s History Month is an opportunity to ensure that young girls are sufficiently tooled with confidence, in their own voice, as it is a time to share that many hard battles to make the world a more just place have been done under the leadership of amazing women. We look forward to instilling in every child who visits a sense of confidence in their ability to leave their mark and make the world a better place. We believe that our exhibitions on view and our special programs this month will reinforce those messages.”

The Museum is proud to showcase the work of three talented female artists throughout the Month: Look And Listen: Life Is All Around Us by Leslie Jimenez is the first exhibition visitors encounter as they enter the Museum. An expression of joy and a prompt for hope, the mural is a celebration of childhood and the delight of learning through everyday discoveries and playful experimentation. The exhibition is the fruit of the meaningful experiences Jiménez cultivated with families and children during her time as Artist-In-Residence at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum in 2017-2018 and her ongoing collaboration with the Sugar Hill Museum Preschool. The Oracle of Amplitude: Heather Hart is an independent rooftop, similar to the artist’s own gabled roof from childhood removed from its house and edging its way into the gallery floor. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the life-sized roof to explore, to look, to talk, and to listen during storytelling sessions, art-making activities and other programs. Tatiana Arocha’s Respiro un bosque / I Breathe a Forest immerses viewers in the dense wilderness of South America’s tropical forests. Juxtaposing real specimens, images of rapid devastation, and monumental natural elements, this exhibition powerfully unmasks an anguished cry from the earth and a yearning for nature and its preservation. Through the lens of the bio-political, as well as that of the immigrant longing for her homeland, Arocha reclaims the lands of her native Colombia, using her art to deconstruct and reconstruct endangered natural landscapes that have long since been deforested or decimated.

Tatiana Arocha continues to transform the exhibition’s artworks through live painting sessions. Tatiana’s next live painting session will take place at the Museum on “Super Sweet Saturday”, March 14th from 10 AM – 12Noon, followed by a workshop for children and families from Noon – 1 PM led by Tatiana. At 2 PM storyteller Robin Bady and violinist, Concetta Abbate will present two inspiring tales of strong girls and brave women from around the world, “Stone Soup” and “The Three Strong Women”. Afterward, they will lead a songwriting workshop inspired by one of the stories.

The third Sunday of every month from 10 AM – 5 PM is PLAYDATE, a FREE day at the Museum for children and families to explore and enjoy art & storytelling. The March Edition of PLAYDATE takes place on March 15th with art-making activities where young artists can contribute to the “Weaving Wall”, create whimsical three-dimensional creature constructions in black & white inspired by our exhibition Tatiana Arocha: Respiro un Bosque/I Breathe A Forest. Young visitors and their families will also create their own three-dimensional trees using upcycled materials and building blocks in the Museum’s Studio Lab. Current Artist-In-Residence Lina Puerta will be available in her studio to talk about her work and what she is creating and resident storyteller Flor Bromley will share magical, empowering stories celebrating women and girls.

The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling hours are Thursday – Sunday, 10 am until 5 pm. Admission is free for children up to 8 years of age, $4.00 for children age 9 – 17, students with ID and Seniors (65+) and $7.00 for adults.

The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling is a contemporary art museum for children rooted in principles of social justice. We strive to strengthen our culturally rich neighborhood with space where children and their families grow and learn about Sugar Hill, and the world at large, through dialogue with artists, art and storytelling. Designed by internationally acclaimed architect David Adjaye, the Museum opened in October of 2015 as the cultural capstone of the Sugar Hill Project, a multi-use building developed by Broadway Housing Communities (BHC) which includes permanent affordable housing for individuals and families, and the Sugar Hill Museum Preschool.

For more information, please visit www.sugarhillmuseum.org.

Photo credit: Frederick Brown.