Eighth grader David Boren embraces his guitar outside the practice rooms of Harlem School of the Arts where he spends most Saturdays and afterschool days training to potentially realize his dream. The school serves more than 3,000 students aspiring toward artistic careers and promotes emerging artists in the community. The saxophone images shown above were taken by Harlem photographer Rudy Collins who was among the first to be exhibited in the lobby’s gallery known as the “gathering space.”

A feature on Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) was not our original intent prior to our visit. Our team was going in for a quick look at an exhibit by one of our favorite Harlem Torch photographers, Rudy Collins, which was among the first to be exhibited in their gallery for emerging artists. On that particular Saturday afternoon the vibrancy of activity inside the building on 141st and St. Nicholas captivated us. It was reminiscent of the Fame movie the 80’s babies grew up fantasizing about. Hundreds of children throughout the building participated in some form of art and the surrounding energy encapsulated our group. Immediately Adarsh Alphons, director of the visual arts department, introduced himself and invited us on an impromptu tour of the facilities. His infectious excitement was boyish in a way that almost made it hard to imagine him as the director until his intellect surpassed his enthusiasm. He explained the classes in sculpture, painting, cartooning and photography, and then led us into a dark room where his students were learning about their own community. “When we live so close to beauty we take it for granted. Many of our students don’t realize the awesome historical value in Harlem.” Part of the artful expression is taking in the beauty and then creatively expositing the interpretation. And we begin to understand that a key ingredient to art is also in the art of thinking and seeing.

A couple of steps outside the visual arts darkroom we ran into Kakuna Kerina, the president and CEO of HSA. She hadn’t planned on an interview that day either, but took her coat off to chat a while. During her tenure she has worked to reinforce the framework of the 46-year old organization and currently works with a new board of directors to intensify fundraising. 

She made a thought provoking statement as we closed our discussion and someone in our group made reference to having a vision. “Anyone can have a vision, but one must have insight and a strategy to carry that vision out,” Ms. Kerina intimated. And instantly the notion of Harlem’s many waning cultural and artistic institutions came to mind. One of the main features that made Harlem famous is the arts: literature, dance, painting and music, inspiring a revolutionary movement that empowered a generation. Yet seemingly the transformative power of the arts in Harlem has always been threatened by insufficient funding, which makes carrying out artistic visions challenging.

Parents and students watched us as we moved throughout the building watching them. The vibrancy of the students veiled the burden of rising tuition costs felt by many parents. But in order to continue bringing the best in-depth artistic study to its students money has to come from somewhere. However that defeats the original vision of teaching fine art to low-income families. The Harlem School was founded in 1964 by the late Dorothy Maynor, a highly revered soprano recitalist.  She retired from her performance career to work in the community with her husband, Reverend Shelby Rooks who was the pastor at St. James Presbyterian Church at 141st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.

Harlem School of the Arts was started in the basement of that church with the objective to offer classes in music, drama, ballet and modern dance to poor children in Harlem for an affordable fee. Again it was about exposing the beauty within the community.

Our tour continued. The large gathering space led out to a courtyard and up a winding staircase are the rooms with all the action. Up for music and down for dance. The first corridor led us to practice rooms for horns and just around the corner we found a student on the piano taking private lessons from Ms. Tsyala “Delilah” Khudad-Zade. A different turn took us to the hall of percussion. Art and music are like soul food and at each turn we were being filled. The dance studios on the lower level each had their own theme, hip hop, classic ballet, modern dance, intermediate tap and an enlivened class moving to Brandy’s new single. Sophia Fatouros, director of the dance department gave us in intimate rundown of the various forms of dance in each studio. There were no marquee names there, not yet. But you get the sense that great art is emerging from inside those walls.

Harlem School of the Arts operates on a $2 million annual budget, besides the cost of much needed building repairs and only about 15%-20% of that budget comes from tuition. In a financial crunch like our economy is experiencing now, arts is the first in budget cuts. But a program like HSA can make all the difference in the success of the student it serves. Over the years they have even taken up the slack for the near abandonment of arts education in many public schools even as they exist as one of the least served communities. For those who believe in the arts as a tool for success in other areas, their unrelenting will to exist despite the odds keeps programs like these going for generations. Parent Association president, Linda Hall says she has witnessed the results over the eight years her daughter has participated in the program. An arts education impacts a child intellectually and emotionally besides giving them discipline and commitment to excel in other areas. “Some students that attend the program clearly have issues at home, “Ms. Hall describes, “but when they come here it’s like a different world for them – they flourish.” Private arts schools across the country echo the same philosophy that art can drive learning.

Besides philanthropy, HSA has a full production calendar each month and the facilities can be rented out for community events. Read more about Harlem School of the Arts on their website: www.harlemschoolofthearts.com