Harlem Arts Festival Last updated April 16, 2025 American annual music festival in New York City
Harlem Arts Festival Genre R&B , soul music , jazz , dance , visual arts , theatre , Spoken word , etc. Dates Last weekend of June each year Location(s) Mount Morris Park in Harlem Manhattan, New York City Founders Neal Ludevig, J.J. El-Far and Chelsea Goding Attendance 6,000 annually Website harlemartsfestival .com
The Harlem Arts Festival is an annual arts festival and arts nonprofit based in Harlem that began in 2012. [ 1] The organization presented community-based music, dance, theatre, and visual artists at Marcus Garvey Park and the surrounding Harlem area. Notable participants included Queen Esther , Toni Blackman , Brandee Younger , Kris Bowers , Divinity Roxx , Marc Cary , AKIR , Timothy Bloom , Brady Watt , Maurice "Mobetta" Brown , M-1 , Solomon Hicks , Bentley Meeker , among many others. [ 2]
History The organization and festival was co-founded and led by three local Harlem producers: Neal Ludevig, J.J. El-Far and Chelsea Goding. [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] The festival debuted in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter campaign garnered press from The New York Times, [ 6] The Daily News, [ 7] [ 8] DNAInfo, [ 9] Northhattan News, [ 10] and a number of other media outlets. [ 11] The organization presented more than 200 artists to more than 17,000 attendees in 5 years.
In 2014, the organization honored musician and social activist Fred Ho with its annual Lynette Velasco Community Impact Award, which honored the NYC's Assembly Member Inez Dickens late Chief of Staff. [ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
In 2017, the festival's headlining performance, which featured Prodigy from Mobb Deep , passed away shortly before his performance. [ 15] [ 16] In response to his death, the organizers and Maurice "Mobetta" Brown , a long-time collaborator of Prodigy's, paid tribute to him through performances alongside M-1 (of Dead Prez ) and a number of other musicians. [ 17] [ 18] HipHopDX premiered an exclusive from the festival where M-1 spit never-before-heard verses from Dead Prez's debut album, Lets Get Free .
Recognition Harlem Arts Festival received letters of support from a number of NYC elected officials and local entities, including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer , Assembly member Inez Dickens , Congressman Charles Rangel , Councilman Mark Levine , Melissa Mark-Viverito , Councilman Bill Perkins , among others. [ 19]
NYC Congressman Charles Rangel declared an official proclamation of a "Harlem Arts Festival Day" on June 22, 2015. [ 20]
In June 2016, Uptown Scoop listed Harlem Arts Festival as #1 on its list of the 100 best things to do in Harlem. [ 21]
In 2017, Baucemag listed Harlem Arts Festival as #5 in a list of "12 Major Events Where You Can Meet a High-Quality BAUCE Bae". [ 22]
References ↑ "ABOUT US" . Harlem Arts Festival . Retrieved 2020-03-29 . ↑ "Harlem Arts Festival | HAF Artists" . Harlem Arts Festival . Retrieved 2020-03-29 . ↑ "Harlem Arts Festival Young Patrons -" . artnet News . 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2020-03-29 . ↑ "NYPL Community Oral History Project | A People's History of Harlem | Neal Ludevig and Chelsea Goding" . oralhistory.nypl.org . Retrieved 2020-03-29 . ↑ "ABOUT US" . Harlem Arts Festival . Retrieved 2020-03-29 . ↑ Miet, Hannah (February 17, 2012). "Giving Ideas A Kick In The Wallet" . New York Times . ↑ LOFTERS, MICHAEL MENNA, ASHLEY (17 June 2012). "Ultimate Summer Guide 2012: Street festivals" . nydailynews.com . Retrieved 2020-03-28 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link ) ↑ FEENEY, MICHAEL J. (20 March 2012). "Arts festival for Harlem on the way, organizers say" . nydailynews.com . Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ "Inaugural Harlem Arts Festival Organizers Want to Showcase Local Artists" . DNAinfo New York . Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ Balac, Milos (December 11, 2011). "Young Entrepreneurs Set The Bar High For Harlem Arts Festival" . Northattan News . Alt URL ↑ FEENEY, MICHAEL J. (20 March 2012). "Arts festival for Harlem on the way, organizers say" . nydailynews.com . Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ "Harlem Arts Fest holds third annual gala" . amsterdamnews.com . 27 February 2014. Retrieved 2020-03-30 . ↑ "Annual HAF Gala Shines a Light on Artists and the Community That Support Them. HAF 2014 Festival Scheduled June 28 - 29" . Harlem One Stop . March 17, 2014. ↑ "Community Service Award Named For Late Harlem Council Aide Lynette Velasco" . DNAinfo New York . Archived from the original on 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-03-30 . ↑ "Hip-Hop Icon Prodigy of Mobb Deep Dies at 42, Reports Say" . DNAinfo New York . Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ "Mobb Deep played their last show on the 'Art of Rap' tour in Vegas (watch)" . BrooklynVegan . Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ BWW News Desk. "Prodigy to Be Honored by Frequent Collaborator Maurice Brown at Harlem Arts Festival" . BroadwayWorld.com . Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ "dead prez's M-1 Spits Unreleased Prodigy Verse From "Let's Get Free" " . HipHopDX . 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28 . ↑ "Harlem Arts Festival | Press" . Harlem Arts Festival . Retrieved 2020-03-30 . ↑ Rangel, Harlem Arts Festival The person who created the document was Congressman Charlie (2015-06-22), English: This file is an official document scan that illustrates a proclamation of Harlem Arts Festival Day on June 22nd, 2015. , retrieved 2020-03-28 ↑ "#HarlemSummer100: 100 Things to do in Harlem This Summer – Uptown Scoop" . 2016-06-27. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2020-03-30 . ↑ Nicole, Janay (2017-04-03). "12 Major Events Where You Can Meet a High-Quality Bae" . BAUCE . Retrieved 2020-03-30 . This page is based on this
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