Programming

Founded in 1983, Harlem Stage is a dynamic hub of artistic experimentation, dedicated to empowering performing artists and arts leaders of the Global Majority at every stage of their journey. It serves as a beacon of artistic freedom for New York City, the cultural capital of the world. Guided by its North Star—Harlem is our home; the world is our stage—Harlem Stage is a sacred space where adventurous and daring creation knows no bounds:

A STAGE…

to create fearlessly with new commissioned works;

to present boldly - theater, dance, music, spoken word, film, and literature;

to educate endlessly, engaging learners of all ages;

to inspire locally, standing shoulder to shoulder with the communities that shape New York City;

to question relentlessly, the ideas that shape the human experience;

to unite globally with artists, leaders, and institutions around the world;

to engineer equity in an artistic landscape that has long underinvested in performing artists, artistic leaders, and communities of color; and,

to protect the planet, because we see climate change as one of the most pressing issues of our time.

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free

I wish I could break all the chains holding me

This resounding anthem performed by the late, renowned pianist and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone speaks to a piercing sentiment keenly inhabited by stories that have yet to be told. The anthem addresses the inherent conundrum wherein the mere act of creative artistic expression - a cornerstone of democracy - does not spontaneously translate to a sense of freedom for artists, arts leaders, or institutions of the Global Majority in a world rife with longstanding and contemporary reverberations of slavery, colonization, and systematic and structural rules of order that oppress one group over another, limiting opportunities, resources, and the ability to tell the stories that shape and reflect our humanity. Harlem Stage answers the call to set untold stories free.