A Museum for Harlem: Building Culture, Community, and Legacy - Part 1

In Part One of our discussion on the Studio Museum in Harlem, we explore how vision, community trust, and funding complexity come together to build a cultural institution that defines a neighborhood. Jessica Busch is joined by Andy Bast, Jaylen Henderson, and Lakya Roberts to examine why 125th Street was the only location that made sense, how Thelma Golden's 12-year leadership carried an entire project through approvals and construction, and what it takes to design for public access and community gathering in the heart of Harlem. The conversation reveals how early community engagement transformed potential construction tensions into shared investment, how funding from city, state, private foundations, and tax credits had to be carefully orchestrated month by month, and why the details of design—like the reverse stoop—matter as much as the vision itself. This episode offers owners, project managers, and architects a practical look at how clarity of purpose, community accountability, and intentional design are essential to delivering public projects that actually serve the neighborhoods they're built in.

Transcript

Welcome to Construction Insiders: The Studio Museum in Harlem

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We are talking about the studio museum in Harlem today.

SPEAKER_05 0:02

As far as tension-wise, most people in Harlem were excited to see this building built. So Hey, hey, there's the museum woman.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

And they say, hey, Miss Museum Woman, what are you gonna reopen? And and and she's turned to me, she goes, Andy, well, what's the answer to that question?

SPEAKER_04 0:19

We're meeting with p someone from the city every month to go over what was being done. And no surprises. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Minimal. My ball. Minimal. Not in controls.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

This is the Construction Insiders Podcast. I'm Jessica Bush, bringing you the newest trends and strategies in construction, essential to anyone in the industry. Welcome back to the Construction Insiders Podcast, the show where we pull back the curtain on projects that shape our cities, our culture, and our communities. I'm your host, Jessica Bush. Today's episode is one that I have been genuinely excited about. We are going to talk about a project that sits at the intersection of history and culture and some seriously complex construction activity. We are talking about the Studio Museum in Harlem today. It is a purpose-built, public-facing institution, the kind of project that doesn't just doesn't serve a community. It really defines one. And when you look at a project like this, what it took to get it all together and off the ground from funding and approvals to underpinning a neighbors foundation, which we will get to shortly, I really wanted to bring the three of you. We have Andy Bass, senior principal. We have Jalen Henderson on the project management side. We have LaKayah Roberts, project controls. So welcome and thank you. So for listeners that may not be as familiar with the project as you guys, because you are quite the trio. Andy, would you mind giving a brief history about the Studio Museum in Harlem, why it exists, what it stands for, and really why the building on 125th Street came to be.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

So thank you. The Studio Museum uh was founded in 1968 as a home for black art and black artists. It was a critical point in the social development of our country and what was going on. And these artists needed a voice. It was founded in a location on Fifth Avenue, uh, then moved in 1982 to its the same spot where we built the new building in the middle of 125th Street. And because 125th Street is really an iconic area of Harlem, it became a platform that allowed for the development of the essence of Harlem to be demonstrated in the museum and in the building. And you know, I think they were they, the museum, were very focused on ensuring that they were representing Harlem in the absolute best way.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

So lookia, the Studio Museum for a long time has been a home to black artists, um, black art, as Andy m mentioned, but when we're talking about the footprint um and uh over all of these years, kind of what has been going on culturally, why was expanding that footprint with the new museum so important?

SPEAKER_04 3:38

That time in the 60s when the first museum was thought of by these group of artists was a challenging time in Harlem. Um there was a lot of political activism going on. Uh there was a lot of pain and hurt from uh five months prior to MLK being assassinated. Was when this the first museum the first museum on Fifth Avenue. Um and that source of black pride, you know, stricken. So if you think about all that, you know, hurt and pain that was happening, kind of had to give a visual voice to it. How will you express it? Uh also black artists were excluded from many of the major New York City museums and galleries. Interesting. So had to build their own. But what a time to do so. What a time. Uh a lot of, like I said, political activism. There was also a lot of black pride. Uh, but from the political aspect of it, from the segregation and the poverty, there had to be a way to express that. Whether it's through voice, through art, uh, through music, we had to create our own place. And that was the time of the black artist movement.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

So Thelma, let's let's let's jump to Thelma on that, on that note. Thelma Golden has been a transformative director um for the Studio Museum, and you're all nodding your head. So everyone agrees. Great. Um, how did her vision and leadership influence where we're at now in the direction of the project from the beginning? Um what did it what did it mean for the old overall building?

SPEAKER_02 5:36

So I I mean, it's very interesting. I mean, one of the things that when you work on projects like this, they become really passions and part of who you are as an individual in your life. I mean, we've worked on this project for more than 12 years. And, you know, the one thing that Thelma brought to the table, who, if you haven't met her, I mean, she's a she's just a tremendous person, but you know, so much energy and leadership put into a small being. So, but her presence is a hundred times of who what her stature is.

SPEAKER_04 6:07

That smile.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

And I think that, you know, part of what she had this vision, she didn't know exactly what the design of the project was going to be, but she had a vision of who she wanted the studio museum in Harlem to be. And that was the mantra that she carried through for the entire creation of the of the institution, uh, through fundraising, through approvals, through design, through construction. And she had tremendous partners in the board and other members of the staff that just followed her. I mean, she was became, in essence, the Pied Piper of for the Studio Museum, in that this is where she wanted to take the project. And everyone followed along. And they, and as I mentioned earlier, the leadership from the the chair of the board, a gentleman by the name of Ray McGuire, who, if you're from New York, everyone knows Ray. But that that essence and that leadership is what really carried this project through. And it it's a it's a perfect example of tenacity, of perseverance, and not giving up.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Well, because there are going to be challenges on any construction project.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Right, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

And we're gonna get into those, but but it's the leadership that keeps it moving to a successful.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

And it's it it's it's so important when you're doing these public projects where you're creating bespoke elements and you're not you're not doing something that someone else has done. And and that's really the essence of the Studio Museum in Harlem, but you know, many of these major public you know and institutional buildings.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So let's talk about the location because if you're from New York, you know, but if you're not from New York, you might not know. Um 125th Street in Harlem, it's about as loaded as you can get.

SPEAKER_04 7:55

Yeah.

Why 125th Street was the only location that made sense

SPEAKER_01 7:56

So trying to build a museum on 125th can't be the easiest thing in the world. But why was the site so important? Why was it worth the difficulties? Um, and how did Harlem and that location shape the design and where you know how everything ended up to be?

SPEAKER_04 8:20

Right. So if you think about Harlem and you think of, you know, the Harlem Renaissance and how all of that culture, and that and I think that's the most important thing about Harlem is the culture. It is loud, it is bright, it is unapologetic, and people are gonna be how they're going to be. And I think that's the most important reason to have that museum in that location. That is where Black Pride is. That is where having a block party, which was a significant part of Harlem, to have creators and dancers and roller skaters, there is so much going on in terms of culture in Harlem. Where else would you put it?

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

I actually have a funny story real quick that I just thought about. Um so I've been uh a uh I've lived in Harlem for over 20 years. I mean, so uh my wife and I moved up there in the early 2000s. And while the project was going on, which again, as I said earlier, was has been years. Which your whole family has now evolved with as well, yes. With this project. But we were I was walking my dog in the park about 6:30, quarter seven in the morning, and I saw Thelma, who lives like four or five blocks up from me, walking in the park. She was exercising, so she was moving pretty quickly. And I just said, Hey Thelma, good morning. How are you? She's great. So you're chasing her at this point. Well, in the park. I didn't want to bother her. I bother her enough during the week. I said, This is Saturday, this is her time. But there were two guys who were setting up for a barbecue at seven o'clock in the morning, and they yell, Hey, hey, there's the museum woman. And they say, Hey, Miss Museum Woman, what are you gonna reopen? And and and she's turned to me, she goes, Andy, well, what's the answer to that?

SPEAKER_01 10:11

And you're like, I shouldn't have walked my dog in here.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

I'm gonna, it's gonna be soon, I promise, it's gonna be soon. So I mean, to go back to what Lakaya was family. There was that's what Harlem is. It is family, it's neighborhood, it's people looking out for one another. And like the sense of pride that this is what they have in their backyard, I think was it's palpable. And you know, and it's really it it it emanates everywhere. So it was just a story to kind of just reinforce. I I I did hurry up and run inside. I was like, I better get to work today, even though it was a Saturday.

SPEAKER_04 10:44

That's that community where, you know, from long ago, everyone knew everyone. And as big as Harlem is and how it's spread out, it's still very tight, it's still very close. Those brown stones mean a lot. So, you know, Harlem in essence is that epicenter of black culture, black pride.

Designing for community: the reverse stoop and public spaces

SPEAKER_01 11:08

It's just wonderful because while we joke about it, accountability and close knit is not a bad thing, right? Right, right. The studio opened, it's beautiful. Um, and when we talk about public buildings, we hear it a lot, it gets thrown around. But in this case, what does it really mean, the idea of having this public, the public access to it, community gatherings? How does that translate into the physical space and the importance of it? Jalen, I know you and I have talked about this briefly, but um, what does that look like and what does that mean?

SPEAKER_05 11:41

Yeah, to go to Andy's and Lakia's point. 125th Street is the livingness, it is the life of Harlem. So what better place to have the student museum on 125th Street when you have the likes of the Apollo Theater, you have the Black Theater, all of these staples of the community are in that same location. So to have the opportunity to not only invite the public into a space like the Studio Museum in Harlem, it also allows the design to uh to flow with that. Um, in this case, you have a design aspect of the building which has a reverse stoop. So, like the uh brownstones, um, which I grew up in in Brooklyn, like it's still relative. I still have that same sense of pride. You have that feeling, you have that opportunity when you enter the building to essentially come off the street, walk down a few steps, and the building has these doors that can open up and allow you to walk down into the cellar, which actually creates a stoop and assembly space where you can have that public access, you can have the public programs, and you can have that community gathering space. And um it also allows the museum the opportunity to be that cultural icon and really shape the fabric of the Harlem space when you also have programs that um allow the public to uh to fit in. You have like educational spaces where the museum puts on public programs where you have students who can come in. So all of those things went into the design and it made it deliberate in this case.

Managing construction on a busy NYC corridor

SPEAKER_01 13:19

And I was gonna ask you, so when I hear something about a cultural institution and a community anchor, community spaces, I immediately think tension in terms of construction and planning. Was there tension? How were these spaces balanced? What does that look like from a construction standpoint?

SPEAKER_05 13:39

Well, I think in this case, the tension of being on 125th Street, it's a busy corridor. So uh you have neighbors, you have all of these uh DOT stipulations or other uh things that prevent you from building in typical uh construction ways, but it's New York City, those are things you have to deal with. Um but I also think the museum and uh the staff and everyone involved, they made sure the community was very involved in this, um, made sure they were aware of everything that was happening. So although there are many challenges like any project, I think as far as tension-wise, most people in Harlem were excited to see this building built. So I think um at that point they wanted to do they wanted to see it built. So um they were well aware, and I think they were receptive to the museum being.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

So even with a a dual personality building, yeah, there were there was the support.

SPEAKER_04 14:38

I remember early on we had those community events where we had people come out and talk about what was being done, what was being built, how that would affect the community. They had large turnouts. People wanted to know what was going on.

Community engagement: From tension to shared investment

SPEAKER_05 14:53

Yeah. And you're just putting those designs, like being purposeful and making sure that the design of the building was built for the community, it helped ease a lot of those tensions.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Yeah, I mean, we we were in front of the community board uh more dozens of times. I mean, during design and during approvals, just so that people were comfortable. And therefore, when we got into the actual logistics of construction, uh they became there was a lot of excitement rather, and rather than focusing on the negatives of the impact, it was more about, well, we know that this is in essence short-term pain for long-term gain.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Well, their wants were heard.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Takes out any sort of confusion or uncertainty about what's going to be very transparent.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Aaron Powell And that process is can be very successful in the development of these public-facing buildings because you're you're creating the vision of the long-term excitement so that therefore the discussion of the interim construction conditions can be more minimized because people know that this is only short-term. Yeah. And we know what we're getting.

Funding complexity: city, state, private, and tax credits

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah. So know what we're getting. Let's talk about funding. Let's talk about money, right? Um, it is never simple. I have not heard of a single project like this that has ever been a straight line. So I'm assuming multiple sources of funding. Um city dollars, private. How does the budget, how does that structure around this? Um Kaya.

SPEAKER_04 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

I'm gonna hand this question to you. What did it mean to you managing this from day one from a funding standpoint?

SPEAKER_04 16:35

Well, you know, we came in as we do, um prepared, overly prepared to, you know, showing you. And knowing you, I know that's true.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Showing showing that we have everything ready and you know, uh starting off with the city funding aspect of it and working with the city, um, that was also a monthly process. We're meeting with someone from the city every month to go over what was being done. And no surprises. Yeah. Minimum my part.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

Not in controls.

SPEAKER_04 17:12

But yeah, you know, we came in with the city and showing them what our monthly budget structure looked like. And it was just, no, change it all around. And that for us was a manual process. And there were, you know, how we structure our budget had to tailor to the city as we were, you know, showing the city what was being spent. And then there was a sit-down with Studio Museum and the city to say what was not going to be included in the city budget and what we can. And usually it's structurally when it comes to the city, is what they're going to pay for. Um, so everything else has to be, you know, on Studio Museum's dollar. So that's when the funding came in, the private funding, which was exceedingly amazing. Going to one of the galas and seeing how much was raised for private funding, you saw the love. Yeah. You saw how much people cared about the project.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:14

Um, but also dealing on a month-to-month basis with the CM and making sure they had the list of requirements for the city. It was a lot. We dealt with it, you know, we dealt with the punches of it and getting them on board and making sure that they understood this is monthly. And I'm a little strict with how I am with my projects. And if you don't have it, then, you know, let's take a pause. But, you know, it was a lot to handle. And eventually it was streamlined. Eventually we got it done, and we got this building done.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

And I think part of it, that process was not only with the city, but it was with we there was state support. Yeah. There was tax credits that were involved in the project. Uh, and then there were also requirements of certain private foundations as well. So, you know, that I mean, Lakai is a master at sort of l laying all of that out and understanding sort of how the cake is going to come together with all of the right ingredients. And that's, you know, part of that process early on. So then therefore you're not playing ketchup. So she's more in control of it than anybody.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Well, when you have to start counting the funding sources like this, it's this does not mean easy.

SPEAKER_04 19:32

And it makes the spreadsheet a lot bigger.

What's coming in part 2

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Wow. Okay. So I might have to take a pause here before we jump in to a few more questions about location and getting into those construction challenges. If you don't mind, we just take a quick pause. Um, for our viewers and listeners, if you want more, like, subscribe, stick with us. We're gonna do part two in just a few. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Check back in a few weeks as we continue our conversation on the Studio Museum in Harlem, exploring the vision, history, and community impact behind this cultural project. And don't forget to subscribe to the Construction Insiders Podcast so you're notified as soon as new episodes go live.