Budget Friendly Family Activities in Harlem

When you think of arts and culture in New York, you probably think of SOHO or DUMBO, Brooklyn. Believe it not Harlem has its own art culture that transcends the well-known Harlem Renaissance period. Harlem boasts galleries and public art displays from river to river. At the center of Harlem's art scene is the long-standing Studio Museum in Harlem.

The Studio Museum in Harlem was founded in a rented loft back in 1968. It has gone on to occupy a space located at 144 West 125th Street in Harlem. The museum has sprouted wings since Thelma Golden has taken the helm as Executive Director and Chief Curator in 2005. In the past year, Target has partnered with the museum to offer free admission every Sunday. While the admission is already reasonable compared to the downtown museums, Target Free Sundays has opened the doors of the museum to the community, making it more accessible to neighborhood residents and offering a budget-friendly option to neighborhood residents and tourists alike.

The Studio Museum in Harlem offers an assortment of contemporary art in styles that cover the spectrum of abstract, expressionism, pop art, realism, and surrealism. The museum typically offers an exhibition from its permanent collection, Artist in Residence collection, and current exhibit. This season, the current exhibit features the work of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Mark Bradford, and Dawoud Bey. The museum has also incorporated multimedia art into its offerings and guests can view video, screen films, and listen to audio. In addition, The Studio Museum offers a wonderful children's program where kids get a chance to hone their artistic skills.

Children can meet artists and illustrators like Bryan Collier, watch movie classics like The Wiz, or make their own hands-on projects in the lower level education studio. During the month of December, The Studio Museum will offer an assortment of Kwanzaa programs.

Children can meet artists and illustrators like Bryan Collier, watch movie classics like The Wiz, or make their own hands-on projects in the lower level education studio. The Studio Museum offers an assortment of Kwanzaa programs where children can create their own buttons, make a collage, and design jewelry in the style of the artists they have viewed in the galleries.

Winter exhibitions will be on view through March 13, 2011. The Studio Museum is closed Monday through Wednesday and open Thursday and Friday 12-9 PM and Saturday and Sunday 12-6 PM. Admission is $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and students with ID, and free for children under 12. Every Sunday is FREE thanks to Target Free Sundays. The museum will be closed on 12/24/10-12/25/10 and 12/31/10-1/1/11.

The Studio Museum in Harlem is located at 144 West 125th Street between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. Take the following trains to 125th Street: 2, 3 (The Museum is 1/2 block west of the station.) A, B, C, D (The Museum is 2 1/2 blocks east of the station) or the 4, 5, 6 (The Museum is 4 1/2 blocks west of the station.) If you are catching the bus take the M-2, M-7, M-10, M-100, M-101, M-102 or BX 15 to 125th Street. Museum is directly across the street from the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building.