Sugar Hill Children's Museum, officially the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling, is a

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...

located in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...

. The building, which also includes a pre school and affordable housing under the auspices of Broadway Housing Communities, is known as the Sugar Hill Development, and is located at 155th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. The museum was designed by

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

and opened in September 2015. The museum is targeted to children between the ages of three and eight given the impact that arts education has on that age group and focuses on underserved children who might not be reached by traditional art outreach.

History

The museum broke ground in 2012 and was originally slated to be called the Faith Ringgold Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling in honor of the artist

Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold (born Faith Willi Jones; October 8, 1930 – April 13, 2024) was an American painter, author, Sculpture, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and Intersectionality, intersectional activist, perhaps best known for her Narrativ ...

and her 9/11 Quilt, however she withdrew her support following concerns about the operation as a museum and security for the art. Rob Fields began as the museum's director in September 2021 following Lauren Kelley and Suzy Delvalle who had led the museum from its inception. Since opening, it has shown the works of

Derek Fordjour Derek Fordjour (born 1974) is an American interdisciplinary artist and educator of Ghanaian heritage who works in collage, video/film, sculpture, and painting. Fordjour lives and works in New York City. Early life and education Derek Fordjou ...

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (, ) (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York C ...

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", an art form populariz ...

, Shani Peters and more. In addition to its exhibits, the museum has become known for its role in the social and racial justice protests that followed the murder of George Floyd and recognition of the neighborhood's role in civil rights protests.

Architecture

When designing the building in a historic part of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

sought to revitalize the community and combat poverty by bringing together affordable housing, a preschool, and a cultural institution. The museum itself occupies 17,000 square feet at the base of the 13-story building.

Artists in Residence

The museum hosts an annual artist in residence program. Previous artists in residence include David Shrobe,

, Leslie Jimenez, Damien Davis, Lina Puerta, and Dionis Ortiz.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 40, 49, 49.6, N, 73, 56, 28.2, W, region:US-NY, display=title Museums established in 2015 Museums in Manhattan Children's museums in New York City David Adjaye buildings