New Additions by the Studio Museum in Harlem

For the final episode of " New Additions ," host Habiba Hopson speaks with writer and curator Diallo Simon-Ponte. Throughout their conversation, Hopson and Simon-Ponte listen to the artists previously interviewed in this podcast and explore the most pressing topics that arose in those discussions such as: why they became an artist, the role of memory, the importance of being part of the Studio Mus...

This episode features artist Garrett Bradley in conversation about her work “ America” (2019).   Garrett Bradley weaves together cinematic and documentary video styles to create films that reflect real-life stories and everyday themes. Bradley's filmmaking is inspired by real-life stories from people in her hometown of New York City; Los Angeles, where she went to school; and New Orleans, where sh...

This episode features artist Jared Owens in conversation about his work " Shadowboxing #3" (2022). Jared Owens, a descendant of three generations of Harlemites, was born and raised in Rockland County, New York. Owens was encouraged towards the arts at a young age due to his family's collection of art objects and his public school's art program. Through a variety of media including painting, sculpt...

This episode features artist Cassi Namoda in conversation about her work " Landscape with child crossing the Styx" (2021). Namoda combines personal memories and art historical references to create rich visual narratives in her paintings. In this episode we are also joined by our fall 2024 curatorial intern Tarik Brown.  Originally from Mozambique, Namoda spent much of her childhood and adolescence...

This episode features artist Derek Fordjour in conversation about his work " Fly Away" (2020). Derek Fordjour’s paintings, sculptures, and installations render the fraught complexities of the Black American experience. Born to Ghanaian immigrant parents in Memphis, Fordjour’s creative aptitude was present from a young age, though his path to artistry took a circuitous route. After briefly attendin...

This episode features Nikita Gale in conversation about the artist's work RUINER XIX (2022). Using various technologies often associated with construction or stagecraft, Gale interrogates the structures of labor, attention, and restriction. Born into a military family, Gale was raised between Anchorage, Alaska, and Atlanta, Georgia.     The artist’s mother’s instruments, father’s foam-board archit...

This episode features artist Brandon Ndife in conversation about his work " A Master’s Tools " (2022).  Brandon Ndife’s works merge interior and exterior worlds, often breaking open hand-built domestic objects to reveal an undergrowth of organic forms.   Born in Hammond, Indiana, to Nigerian and Barbadian parents, Ndife's interest in the arts began at a young age, sparked while attending a high sc...

This conversation features artist Zora J Murff in conversation about his work Garden with fruit (after Charles Ethan Porter) . Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Artist and educator Zora J Murff studied photography at the University of Iowa while serving as a social worker for youth on court probation who were guided through therapy and community service as an alternative to incarceration. Murff...

This conversation features artist Vladimir Cybil Charlier in conversation about her work Billie Zulie (1997).     Born in Queens, New York, to Haitian parents, Vladimir Cybil Charlier grew up equally between Port-au-Prince and New York. Across several mediums, Vladimir Cybil Charlier employs a visual diasporic language, one that melds symbolic and cultural elements from Black cultures in the Unite...

Episode 1 of New Additions features artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones in discussion of his life, practice, and work in the Studio Museum’s collection, " A Flashy Encounte r" (2021). Based in New York and born in London to Nigerian parents, Adeniyi-Jones received his MFA from Yale in 2017 after completing his BFA at Oxford University. Adeniyi-Jones's work is deeply inspired by his Yoruba heritage and carr...

Introducing the Studio Museum in Harlem’s first podcast: New Additions. This series features intimate conversations with artists whose work has been recently added to the Studio Museum’s permanent collection. Hosted by Studio Museum Senior Curatorial Assistant Habiba Hopson, New Additions brings in artists at a pivotal moment in their career to discuss their path to artmaking, their process in the...