Dawoud Bey’s Photos Return to the Studio Museum in Harlem
by Jayde Belser
December 4, 2025
by Jayde Belser
December 4, 2025
Dawoud Rey. “A Man in a Bowler Hat.” The Studio Museum, 1976. Silver print. Https://www.studiomuseum.org/artworks/harlem-u-s-a-a-man-in-a-bowler-hat-1976.
After being closed for reconstruction since 2018, the Studio Museum in Harlem has reopened to the public. Founded in 1968, towards the end of the Civil Rights Movement, it was the first major museum dedicated to supporting and showcasing Black artists. Its inaugural exhibition, “From Here: A Collective in Context,” bridges artwork from the nineteenth century to the present, centering on the evolving identities and legacies of Black artists. Through themes of place, memory, and belonging, the exhibition underscores the diverse perspectives shaping their work. Dawoud Bey, a photographer and longtime collaborator with the Studio Museum, began photographing Harlem residents in the mid-1970s as a way to honor his familial history in the neighborhood. At a time when media representations of Black people were limited in scope and narrative, Bey sought to offer a new perspective rooted in honor.
Dawoud Rey. “A Boy in Front of the Loews 125th Street Movie Theater.” The Studio Museum, 1976. Silver print. Https://www.studiomuseum.org/artworks/harlem-u-s-a-a-boy-in-front-of-the-loews-125th-street-movie-theater-1976.
Bey’s “Harlem, USA” (1975-79), a series of thirty photographs, preserves Black culture amid Harlem’s gentrification — a process in which low-income residents are displaced by an influx of new, affluent residents, changing the original character of the neighborhood. By capturing people’s everyday lives in Harlem, Bey documented the neighborhood as a living entity, brought to life by its residents. He completed his project in 1979 and exhibited it at the Studio Museum in Harlem that same year. At the time, well-known depictions of Harlem were largely captured by white photographers, who often portrayed the neighborhood as a monolith of poverty and urban crisis. In contrast, Bey’s photos capture the diverse identities of Harlem, using the setting to contextualize subjects.