A Harlem portfolio: Part I

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WHETHER IT CONJURES UP FOR YOU IMAGES OF URBAN BLIGHT OR A GREAT NEW REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITY, BOARDED-UP BUILDINGS OR SOME OF THE BEST STATELY ARCHITECTURE IN THE COUNTRY, PRESIDENT CLINTON'S CHOICE FOR POST-WHITE HOUSE OFFICE SPACE OR, YES, SOME OF THE FINEST SOUL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS AROUND, CHANCES ARE THE NAME HARLEM DOESN'T BEGIN TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF WHAT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD REALLY IS. TO CAPTURE WHAT CAN ONLY BE CALLED THE NEW HARLEM RENAISSANCE, WE ASKED THELMA GOLDEN OF THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM TO TAKE US ON A GUIDED TOUR OF JUST SOME OF THE MANY INDIVIDUALS (SO MANY, IN FACT, THAT WE ARE CONTINUING THE PORTFOLIO WITH PART II TO FOLLOW IN MARCH) WHO ARE AN INTRINSIC PART OF THE COMMUNITY TODAY--A COMMUNITY THAT SHE CALLS A "CROSSROADS OF MANY DIFFERENT WORLDS." AND WHAT COULD BE MORE AMERICAN THAN THAT?

MELBA WILSON

"Melba's is one of the best new restaurants in the neighborhood. With its old-fashioned Harlem hospitality and its updated soul food classics, it's a spot that combines the best of the past with the present. It's a warm, lovely place where both locals and people who live outside the neighborhood can experience the best of what Harlem has to offer. And like her aunt, Sylvia Woods (the woman behind the classic Harlem eatery Sylvia's), Melba is the ultimate Harlem hostess--warm, friendly, and always wearing a smile." Photo: Larry Fink.

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DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN

"Daniel Bernard Roumain is a musician and a multigenre artist--one of those creative individuals who doesn't believe in categories. So whether it's classical or hip-hop, musical or visual, live or YouTube, Roumain is someone who is constantly mashing and mixing media. The violin is his primary instrument, but with his genre-bending approach, he's done lots of fantastic work with everyone from Philip Glass to Bill T. Jones to young people's orchestras." Photo: Larry Fink.

MARCIA GAY HARDEN

"Marcia Gay Harden, of course, is an Oscar-winning actress [for 2000's Pollock] who's been living up here for about five years now. In a community like Harlem, when someone such as Marcia Gay Harden moves in, people tend to talk about it. I've never met her, but I believe that she lives in a house that was recently renovated, which puts her in the category of the many pioneers who have been reclaiming property in the neighborhood." Photo: Alex Tehrani

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JASON MORAN AND ALICIA HALL MORAN

"Jason Moran is an amazing jazz pianist, and Alicia Hall Moran is a fantastic singer. They work independently and together, in established musical forms ranging from jazz to classical, but they also innovate it and change it in the very best way that artists can. They are two amazing music makers who live in Harlem and perform throughout the world." Photo: Alex Tehrani.

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MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS

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"Michael Henry Adams is the author of Harlem Lost and Found [Monacelli Press], which stands as a definitive survey of this community's architectural life and legacy. He's a preservationist and has long been the force behind much of what's happened in Harlem in terms of people understanding the history of the neighborhood's built spaces. Adams has had a lot to do with the conversation about what Harlem should be and what it should look like, and he's had a huge effect on the way people understand the neighborhood's architectural history." Photo: Larry Fink.

BILL T. JONES

"Bill T. Jones is nothing short of a cultural visionary. Three years ago, when creating a space to both contain the legacy of the company he founded with the late Arnie Zane as well as create a home for it for the future, he made the creative and courageous decision to locate it here in Harlem. I think that says something interesting about the ways in which art communities are created or defined. As an artist, Bill looks at creating a new sense of community and it's something that informs his work. But more importantly, I think his work also has the potential to instigate and inform the transformation of the community." Photo: Alex Tehrani.

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MARCUS SAMUELSSON

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"Marcus Samuelsson is a famous food visionary who's making an amazing contribution as a kind of culinary anthropologist, advocate, and curator. His last cookbook is called The Soul of a New Cuisine, [Wiley] and it looks at the foods and flavors of Africa. Marcus traveled all over collecting the recipes of home and market cooks, and spending time in the marketplaces as well as big-city restaurants, collecting and creating a whole map of Africa through food--something that's not often thought of in connection with the African continent. Marcus is a Harlem resident who's opening up the rich tradition of African cuisine." Photo: Alex Tehrani.

JULIE MEHRETU AND JESSICA RANKIN

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"The echoes of the Harlem renaissance are still felt throughout the neighborhood today, as it is both a home and a workplace for many artists. Julie Mehretu and Jessica Rankin are two such individuals--amazing artists who have created both a home and a studio in Harlem. Together they represent the broad community of artists living and working uptown today." Photo: Larry Fink.