"One of the amazing things about the Studio Museum is that we were not founded by one person. We were founded by a group of people. And we weren't founded at one moment. Our becoming predates our official inauguration in 1968. People were meeting and thinking and planning and strategizing before that." —Thelma Golden⠀ ⠀ This week marks the 54th anniversary of the opening of The Studio Museum in Harlem! ✨⠀ ⠀ On September 26th, 1968, the Studio Museum opened to the public in a rented loft on 2033 5th Avenue—not far from our location on 125th Street. The space was envisioned by a diverse group of artists, community activists and philanthropists who envisioned a new kind of museum that not only displays artwork but also supports artists and arts education. This included founders Eleanor Holmes Norton, Carter Burden, Charles Innis, Campbell Wylly, Betty Blayton-Taylor, and Frank Donnelly. As we look forward to our new building on 125th, we simultaneously look back at our founding in celebration of a long line of people who've made the Studio Museum the place where Black art lives, and thrives.⠀ ⠀ You can read about the Studio Museum's founding and continued mission in "Street, Stoop, Stage, Sanctuary," an indispensable roundtable conversation between our Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden (@thelmagolden) and Studio Museum leaders and alums Naomi Beckwith, Thomas (T.) Jean Lax (@t.jeanlax), and Lowery Stokes Sims, featured in the September 2021 issue of @Artforum–link in bio!⠀ ⠀ —⠀ ⠀ Image 1: Exterior of The Studio Museum in Harlem's original location at 2033 Fifth Avenue, 1968.⠀ ⠀ Image 2: (From L to R) Eleanor Holmes Norton, Carter Burden, Charles Inniss, Campbell Wylly, Betty Blayton-Taylor, Frank Donnelly at the opening of the Studio Museum in Harlem, 1968. Photo: Jill Krementz.⠀ ⠀ Image 3: (From L to R) Carl McCall, Mary Schmidt Campbell, Arthur Barnes, Robert Carroll, and Fred Samuel at groundbreaking for The Studio Museum in Harlem at 144 West 125th St., 1981.⠀ ⠀ Image 4–5: "Street, Stoop, Stage, Sanctuary" in the September 2021 issue of Artforum. Courtesy Artforum