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# Studio Museum in Harlem Receives $10M From Ford Foundation
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/studio-museum-in-harlem-receives-10-million-from-ford-foundation/
- Published: 2024-10-29T20:38:52.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:08:10.000Z
- Description: The gift will permanently endow the New York institution’s director and chief curator role, held by Thelma Golden for nearly two decades.
- Author: Rhea Nayyar
- Tags: News, Ford Foundation, New York, Studio Museum, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-large, #Import 2025-11-24 09:36 (2023, 2024, part 2)

A year out from its [fall 2025 reopening](https://hyperallergic.com/nyc-studio-museum-champion-of-black-artists-will-reopen-next-year/), the Studio Museum in Harlem has received a $10 million grant from the Ford Foundation to endow its director and chief curator role, currently held by Thelma Golden in the last 19 years. Ford Foundation President Darren Walker delivered the news during the Studio Museum's annual gala on Monday evening, October 28\. In accordance with the endowment gift, Golden will henceforth take up the title of Ford Foundation Director and Chief Curator.

In a statement shared with *Hyperallergic*, Walker called the museum "one of America's cultural treasures."

“For more than half a century, the Studio Museum in Harlem has been a vital platform for multiple generations of outstanding artists of African descent and, in so doing, has opened vast new areas of scholarship, creativity, and appreciation in the visual arts," Walker said.

“It is especially fitting to endow the leadership position of Director and Chief Curator when the inimitable Thelma Golden is about to celebrate 20 years of proving to be the art world’s exemplary leader for courageous change," he continued. (Walker announced his departure from the Ford Foundation by the end of 2025 and was [recently named president of the National Gallery of Art](https://hyperallergic.com/darren-walker-elected-president-of-national-gallery-of-art/) in Washington, DC.)

Since assuming the director and chief curator role at the museum in 2005, Golden has been credited with [increasing visitor attendance by 27%](https://www.wsj.com/articles/thelma-golden-steering-the-studio-museum-ahead-1437175341?ref=hyperallergic.com) within her first decade at the helm by extending hours on Thursdays and Fridays. She has also expanded the Studio Museum's commitment to Black art and culture through the inclusion of artists of African descent beyond the United States.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2024/10/studiomuseuminharlem_newbuilding_albertvecerka2.jpg)

Exterior of the Studio Museum in Harlem's new building (photo © Albert Vecerka/Esto, image courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem)

Golden has also led the museum through its [pricy expansion plan](https://hyperallergic.com/220136/harlems-studio-museum-taps-david-adjaye-to-design-122m-expansion/), announced in 2015\. The institution closed its physical site in 2018 for the expansion, which has been upended by various construction delays over the years that have postponed the grand reopening to next fall. Having initially tapped Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye to design the new space, the [Studio Museum and the architect have since parted ways](https://hyperallergic.com/museums-part-ways-with-architect-david-adjaye-over-sexual-assault-allegations/) after [he was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment](https://hyperallergic.com/starchitect-david-adjaye-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/) by three female former employees in mid-2023\. The institution said it will finish the project with Adjaye Associates, his firm in New York, and executive architect Cooper Robertson.

The [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/arts/studio-museum-in-harlem.html?ref=hyperallergic.com), which first reported the news, noted that the Ford Foundation's endowment was most opportune in fortifying the Studio Museum as Golden has been considered the top contender in the Museum of Modern Art's ongoing search for a new director.

However, the Studio Museum referred *Hyperallergic* to a previous comment from Golden where she expressed that she's "so deeply committed to welcoming audiences and working with artists in this new building when we open."

**Editor's note 10/31/24 3:45pm EST:* A previous version of this article stated that the Studio Museum cut ties with architect David Adjaye. Following a correction request from Adjaye Studio and with the Studio Museum's confirmation, the article was edited to reflect that Adjaye and the institution agreed to part ways.*