My Image Studios to draw communities together; federal funding on tap

 

By Amanda Fung

 

Harlem boasts many well-known arts and cultural institutions, including the Apollo Theater, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the National Black Theatre, but one thing the neighborhood has been short on is space for exhibits and performances.

With help from the federal stimulus funds, that is about to change. Last week, the city announced it would channel as much as $2.2 million in federal stimulus funding for the development of My Image Studios, or MIST, to be located on West 116th Street on the ground floor of the Kalahari Condominium, a new 249-unit mixed-income development that was completed two years ago. The 20,000-square-foot facility devoted to African and Hispanic arts and culture will offer three screening rooms, performance space, film and digital media studios for postproduction work, and a 7,000-square-foot restaurant.

 

“People in Harlem have varied tastes in culture and entertainment,” says Stanley Gleaton, chair of the land-use committee of Community Board 10. “This facility is truly needed.”

 

 

MIST's arrival on West 116th Street, between Fifth and Lenox avenues, will fill an important cultural gap. The closest arts institution is about 10 blocks south on Lexington. Just last year, farther north, the Dwyer Cultural Center opened its doors on the lower floors of a new condominium building that was formerly the abandoned Dwyer Warehouse. The $3 million, 7,000-square-foot center is located on St. Nicholas Avenue, at West 123rd Street, and provides space for exhibitions, performances and workshops that showcase Harlem's history.

 

One of the key benefits that many see in MIST is that it will give different communities in the neighborhood an opportunity to interact. Carlton Brown, chief operating officer of Full Spectrum of NY, who developed the Kalahari along with Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and L+M Equity Participants, notes that to the east is a large Central American community, while to the west the population is predominantly Puerto Rican and African-American.

 

“They all have little in common, and we want this center to bring disparate people together,” says Mr. Brown. “It's what New York City is about.”

Actually, the center was part of the original plan for the condo project, but it was stalled as a result of the economic downturn and credit crunch. The infusion of federal money will help jump-start construction of the $10.3 million center.

 

“We want to get this center launched,” says Mr. Brown. “There has been so much investment in new housing and retail in Harlem, but one of the things that makes Harlem distinct is its culture.”

 

With the addition of the $2.4 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, half of the necessary financing is in place. The developer hopes to lock up the remainder next month, according to Roland Laird, managing director of MIST.

 

The new center will create more than 60 jobs, mostly for people from the community. The space will be home to a postproduction facility where students will be trained in film editing and new media production, and it will also offer space for professionals to finish postproduction work. The screening rooms will feature films. And MIST already has an established relationship with Stanley Nelson, a well-known filmmaker of African-American documentaries. His production company, Firelight Media, will provide programming for the screening rooms.

 

“I believe in culture as a business,” says Mr. Laird, who is also chief executive of Posro Media, a niche media company. “Harlem can lead the way in using culture to recycle dollars into the community and empower people.”