At West Harlem Development Corporation we are pleased to announce the launch of our 2013/Cycle 2 pre-grant application. We continuously work to improve and refine our grant making practices with the goal of streamlining the process as much as possible.

For this upcoming grant cycle we are happy to introduce an on-line grant management system. It is easy to navigate and will allow you to communicate all organizational and grant information.

Click the Word Doc tutorial and training video to walk you through the process of setting up an account for submitting a pre-grant application.

To begin the online application process, please click here.

Call to Artists

Harlem Biennale is offering an artist commission to create “My Harlem 1.0”, a pilot community-based art project using cellphones. Communicating through images is the predominant language of our time. Cell and smart phones are ubiquitous tools to capture, transmit and share these experiences. Their built-in cameras contribute greatly to the 6 billion images uploaded on Facebook every month – the vast majority by youth. While almost anyone has access to this technology, few have developed the visual literacy to truly create with it.

“My Harlem 1.0” is to be carried out in two phases.

Phase 1 (July-October 2013):

The artist will mediate six 2-hour lectures with field trips for a group of 15 Harlem youth between the ages of 16-21. Participants will produce assignments of photos, audio and video narratives about Harlem, their lives, families and friends. These images and sounds may explore: How does place and community define me?  How do I define this place?  What does this image mean to me?  Why did I choose to share it? What is my relationship to the world around me? In doing so, they will gain the increased ability to communicate in a complex society with the skills and technologies required for today’s demanding new professions.

This phase will culminate with two presentations created by the artist in collaboration with the students, the first at Manhattanville Houses in West Harlem and the second at St. Martin’s Church in Central Harlem.

Phase 2 (January – May 2014):

The artist will transform the archive source material created in Phase 1 into a multimedia exhibition/installation to be shown during the Harlem Biennale and elsewhere. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in this evolution and production of the work. Print materials such as post cards, posters, brochures and a publication, as well as an e-book may be produced around this project.

“My Harlem 1.0” will be sited in Manhattanville Houses, a West Harlem community comprising 6 twenty-story buildings,  1,272 units and almost 3,000 residents. Manhattanville Houses is one of New York City’s 334 public housing developments where 8% of the city’s population resides.

The selected artist has an art practice based in collaboration and social engagement with proven experience teaching/working with youth in the areas of photography, visual literacy and film/video.

Past projects exploring social and digital media, creating and producing projects that engage community while exploring the boundaries and possibilities of contemporary art, are an asset. The artist may also create and manage a website blog/portal for the project.

The artist will be given a $3,000 stipend to complete Phase 1 and oversee the creation of Phase 2. Production assistance and resources will be provided by Harlem Biennale and our partners.

Please send your inquiries and letters of interest to: Ann Fraser, ann@harlembiennale.org

Columbia Spectator article  published on May 13.

On a beautiful Friday, May 10, 2013, Broadway Housing Communities, Inc. of West Harlem, held its Topping- Off and Tree Planting Ceremony to mark the frame completion of its newest project. When completed in 2014, the 13 storey Sugar Hill structure will be in the words of Councilmember Robert Jackson, Broadway Housing’s first “building from scratch.”

Located on West 155th St. and St. Nicholas Avenue, It will provide 124 units of affordable housing, a children’s museum and early childhood education center. The rooftop that gives panoramic views of upper Manhattan stretching across to downtown New York City, the Bronx, and Westchester County, will grace an urban garden. Broadway Housing intends to have 25 units reserved for homeless families.

Financing partners, contributors, sponsors, supporters, elected officials, and construction workers joined the ceremony to toast another symbol of progress in West Harlem with a demonstration of appreciation for Broadway Housing’s work in providing affordable housing. Under the leadership of Ellen Baxter, since its inception in 1983, Broadway Housing has renovated and commissioned 6 buildings providing over 300 housing units. These significant achievements were not lost to US Congressman Charles Rangel, NY State Assemblyman Denny Farrell, City Councilmember Robert Jackson, and Community Board 9 Chairperson, Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas, all of who spoke glowingly of Ellen and her team. The Sugar Hill project is designed by Architect David Adjaye who has the honor of designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. 

Kofi Boateng and West Harlem Local Development Corporation were introduced as funding the $45,000  of outreach by Broadway to properly locate and qualify the prospective tenants for the Sugar Hill building among other activities. Attendees of the event participated in the symbolic planting of an evergreen tree and signing an artistic mural.

Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas left the audience with hope of empowerment:

“Remember that the strength of our community and the success of our children begin in our homes. That is precisely the logic behind Broadway Housing’s plan to integrate a Pre-K school and children’s museum in its housing projects from here going forward. They are bringing the lessons learned elsewhere to this comprehensive site on Sugar Hill.”

Deep Dish Waves of Change is offering a professional opportunity for 5 female New York City High School students. This paid Summer Internship Program is open to all female high schoolers,  including 2013 graduates, who live in Community Board 9 with an interest in learning more about web design/development, community media and journalism.  They will consider highly motivated middle school students. The internship is July – August 2013. Interns will receive a $750 stipend, plus transportation.

Waves of Change is a survey of community media around the world: Radio, Television, Theater, Murals, Comics, etc. as resistance to commercial culture. As a summer intern you’ll get to:

• Write, research,and create your own community media pieces. 
• Build creative work place skills
• Develop your programming knowledge
• Work and learn from technical experts and community leaders
• Become educators among your peers and within your community by sharing your experiences through presentations at schools and in the community
• Make a difference in your community and the world

Applications due June 07, 2013. There will be an informational meet and greet in June.

Application packets are available online.

For more details click here to visit the website or contact DeeDee Halleck, Program Coordinator.

This summer internship project is made possible by a grant from the West Harlem Local Development Corporation & Deep Dish Network.

West Harlem Development Corporation held a pre-grant workshop on May 6, 2013 for the organization’s second grant cycle. More than 70 interested prospects filled the auditorium of the George Bruce Library to standing-room-only capacity. Executive Director Kofi A. Boateng explained WHDC’s mission and grant overview. Dean Morris, Director of Programs, outlined the online grant application process in a step-by-step format. He later spoke about the grant categories, reporting requirements, procedures, key dates and awards. The attendees then participated in an in-depth Q&A.

WHDC will hold a free grant-writing workshop on May 20th from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Our Children’s Foundation, 527 W. 125th St. Space is limited so please RSVP by May 13th to info@westharlemdc.org

The pre-grant application will be posted on this website on May 15. The application is due on June 3.

To view the slides from the pre-grant workshop click here.

For more information about the grant application process click here.

The Harlem School of the Arts has taught tens of thousands of young people in music, theater, dance and visual art since it was founded by internationally-acclaimed soprano Dorothy Maynor in 1964.

The school educates children from toddlers to high schoolers in visual arts, dance, music and theater. The school’s mission is to offer children and young adults the freedom to find and develop the artist, student and citizen within themselves in an environment that teaches discipline, stimulates creativity, builds self-confidence and adds a dimension of beauty to their lives.

The school aims to empower its students — 1,000 served annually — to become creative thinkers and innovative leaders.

n addition, 500 city students benefit from HSA’s educational outreach program that places experienced teaching artists in New York City schools. The program also connects with community centers, housing developments and nursing homes.

“The arts change lives,” said Yvette L. Campbell, HSA’s president and CEO. “We want to build the future artists of tomorrow.”

Campbell wants to grow the 37,000-square-foot school to its capacity of 1,500 students.

“I want to grow the school in an economic way that helps the community,” Campbell said. “I’m about bringing art back into the community, back to the kids.”

Campbell took the helm in 2011, turning around the school after it went bankrupt and closed in 2010. Under her leadership, famed trumpeter, record executive and philanthropist Herb Alpert gave the school more than $6 million, and the building was renamed the Herb Alpert Center in March, 2013.

“We are the only location on the east coast that receives his money,” Campbell said.

Campbell, a former Alvin Ailey dancer, has a background that is a perfect mix of business and art. She not only has a degree in applied mathematics, she also created The Ailey Extension.

The parents of HSA students say that their children work harder in school due to the practice and repetition in their classes at HSA. HSA has produced some amazing talent: one 11-year-old is blind and has learned to play the piano by ear.

The school also gives its students the opportunity to see professional dance companies practice and hosts professional artists, such as dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp and Afro Latin jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill, who perform and teach at the school.

HSA earned a grant from West Harlem Local Development Corporation in March to provide financial aid and scholarships to 50 West Harlem students and families and training in music, dance, theater, visual arts and musical theater. The grant will also provide outreach to the community, bringing residents into HAS and increasing enrollment.

“Harlem is the place to be,” Campbell said. “There is nothing like this. We are a community arts facility and we love our kids.”

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