High school photography in focus at Harlem’s Studio Museum
New York high-school students explore community, history and life under lockdown in the first online edition of Expanding the Walls at the Studio Museum in Harlem
![Delaney Diaz-Tapia's photo for Studio Museum Harlem's latest Expanding the Walls exhibition](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DzyG4HvMgW6vwFCV4t9JKZ-415-80.jpg)
For the last 20 years, the Studio Museum in Harlem has nurtured the talents of a select group of New York high-school students with ‘Expanding the Walls’, an eight month photography-based programme that leads its participants to explore ideas of community, history and culture while learning technical basics.
Working with a diverse group of artist professionals, and using the work of photographer James Van Der Zee as a jumping-off point, the students participate in art workshops, discussion groups and excursions before producing and presenting a collective body of work.
It should be of no surprise that the end result of this year’s cohort has taken on a very different significance. When students could no longer gather with each other and their mentors, they had no option but to complete the programme remotely. This year’s exhibition, entitled ‘Hearts in Isolation: Expanding the Walls’, sees the programme’s 15 young creatives, who are aged between 15 and 18, capture glimpses of life in lockdown.
April Riley, new heights, 2020. Digital chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist
‘Community has always been a key pillar of the Expanding the Walls programme,’ says Thelma Golden, the museum’s director and chief curator. ‘This year, students and mentors faced an unprecedented set of new challenges that redefined that pillar. At a time when home can feel isolating, the programme created a critical space for community, and the camera became a tool for students to confront unexpected circumstances.’
Ranging from portraits and self-portraits to still-life compositions and everyday scenes in the home, the poignant images on display in the online exhibition reflect a vivid array of perspectives, styles and issues, while exuding a level of introspection and artistry that truly goes beyond the artists’ years.
Jean Espinoza, The Look of Honesty, 2020. Digital chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist
Nyasia Pettway, Silhouette, 2020. Digital chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist
INFORMATION
‘Hearts in Isolation: Expanding the Walls’, until 30 July 2021 on the Studio Museum website. studiomuseum.org
PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK EXHIBITIONS NEWS
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathy
Creative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
By Hannah Silver Published
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & Vinoodh
Photographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published