The Studio Museum in Harlem Presents Online Exhibtion: Hearts in Isolation: Expanding the Walls 2020

April Riley, New Heights (detail), 2020. Digital chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist. [Image Description: This photograph depicts the view of a city through a peephole, it is monochrome, and text over the image reads “Hearts in Isolation” and in smaller font “Expanding the Walls 2020.”]

From Thursday, July 30 to Jul 30, 2021

Presented by the Studio Museum in Harlem, the online photography exhibition Hearts in Isolation: Expanding the Walls 2020 features work by the fifteen teenage artists in the 2019–20 cohort of the Museum’s annual program, Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History, and Community. Launching July 30th, the first online edition of the annual Expanding the Walls exhibition marks the program’s twentieth anniversary.

During their eight months in the program, Expanding the Walls participants from New York City–area high schools explore digital photography, artistic practice, and community—a term that took on new meaning this year, when students could no longer gather with one another and their mentors but had to complete the program remotely. As a result, their photographs reflect on themes of home and safety.

Hearts in Isolation: Expanding the Walls 2020 is organized by Makayla Bailey, Curatorial Fellow, Exhibitions; and Jordan Jones, Curatorial Fellow, Permanent Collection; with Ginny Huo, Senior Coordinator, Teen Programs; and the 2019—2020 Expanding the Walls participants.

The twentieth anniversary of Expanding the Walls is made possible with support from The Keith Haring Foundation Education Fund; Conscious Kids; New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; Joy of Giving Something; and Colgate-Palmolive. Additional support for The Studio Museum in Harlem’s Education programs is provided by the Thompson Foundation Education Fund; the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation; Gray Foundation; Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Con Edison; and the Hearst Endowment Fund.

The Studio Museum in Harlem is deeply grateful to Donna Mussenden VanDerZee for her continued support of Expanding the Walls; photographer and professor Isaac Diggs for his mentorship; and New York University for its generous support of the program.

You can find out more about Studio Museum’s programs and exhibitions here.