Help us reach today's goal of $20000 by December 31

Dear Friends,

We kicked off Harlem Needle Arts’ (HNA) end of year fundraising campaign on #GivingTuesday and still need your support.

HNA centers cultural textile art to reimagine and connect with the organic nature in which the art forms have historical existed within our families and communities.

Our journey continues to expand the narrative of fiber, textile, and needle arts to our Harlem community and beyond.As cultural workers, we share histories, exhibitions, instruction, talks and professional development.Additionally, we share humanity through centuries of gathering to use our hands as makers and artists.

Disrupting the myths associated with the art forms, HNA creates space for understanding, and learning.Engagement in the arts and function of quilting, weaving, knitting, felting, adire and crochet, just to name a few, create space for inter-generational dialogue and workshops to reflect on the importance of incorporating the traditional lens in our contemporary lives along with the vocabulary for our well-being.

Over the past year HNA continued to reach new heights as a small but growing organization:

• HNA established new partnerships with the American Folk Art Museum and The Africa Center.

• With the record interest of our FREE workshop series, with artists such as Dindga McCannon, Laura R. Gadson, Sylvia Hernandez, Ife Felix, Elan Ferguson, Alex Reynoso and Oluwaseyi Awoyomi, the classes quickly reached capacity and some had waitlist that exceeded 100 people.

• Through the folklore of textile, we presented "Eniyan laso mi” a Yoruba adage meaning “people are my fabric” performed by Oluwaseyi Awoyomi accompanied by her orchestra of talking drums.

• For thirteen weeks we provided seniors at the SAGE senior center with memory and portrait quilting making.As noted by SAGE administrator Adrian, HNA’s programming was the most well attended at the site.

• For the past two semesters HNA provides textile art instruction to the students at Thurgood Marshall Academy.

• Our Business of Textile Art series provided one-on-one support as well as our virtual series with topics for teaching artists such as Cultural Sensitivity – conflict resolution and Demystifying the Application Review Process, presented by Dr. Linda H. Humes and Hayley Ferber respectively.

In the coming months HNA will work with our Teen Textile Lab, Business of Textile Art-Cohorts, more virtual #MantraMondays and Creatives-in-Residence along with our next exhibition Be Real Black for Me.

Show up for HNA and make your contribution today. Matching gifts accepted.

Your donation will have a profound impact on the lives of those we serve in the Harlem community and beyond.

Thank you in advance for your support to Harlem Needle Arts. I look forward to sharing our journey with you in 2024.

Best,

Michelle Bishop

Executive Director

#GivingHNA