{"id":149291,"date":"2026-03-01T23:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T23:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149291\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T23:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T23:34:07","slug":"local-women-artists-explore-identity-in-shade-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149291\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Women Artists Explore Identity In &#8216;Shade&#8217; Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772408046_845_Untitled-design.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-289500 lazy\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>By HWM<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) is celebrating the 17th edition of its landmark annual exhibition, \u201cWomen in the Heights: Shade,\u201d featuring work by 43 women artists from Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. Curated since its inception by Andrea Arroyo, the exhibition has long served as a vital platform for women artists in Upper Manhattan, highlighting their creativity, perspective, and community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Through April 21, visitors can expect a vibrant display of works in a wide range of media, all exploring the theme of shade and its intersections with light and shadow\u2014literal, social, and emotional.<\/p>\n<p>Never miss new stories in Harlem<\/p>\n<p>Shade, as interpreted by the participating artists, carries layered meanings across cultures and communities. It can provide refuge or concealment, protection or defiance, acceptance or rejection. From the colloquial \u201cthrowing shade\u201d to the sheltering quality of literal shadows, from racial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harlemworldmagazine.com\/hwm-summit-spotlight-dr-david-byer-tyre-shares-perspectives-on-art-and-inclusion-in-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">colorism<\/a> to tonal range in visual art, the concept speaks to power, presence, and the unseen forces that influence how we navigate the world.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibition poses questions about visibility and perception: How do we negotiate exposure versus cover, clarity versus ambiguity, belonging versus otherness? The artists\u2019 works invite viewers to reflect on these tensions and to consider the ways shade shapes identity, experience, and expression.<\/p>\n<p>Curator Andrea Arroyo notes in a press release, \u201cFor 17 years, I have been honored to work with NoMAA and the artists of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harlemworldmagazine.com\/upper-manhattan-real-estate-update-midyear-upper-manhattan-market-summary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Upper Manhattan<\/a>. The works in this exhibition illuminate, challenge, and expand our understanding, offering a space for dialogue, exploration, and the transformative power of art. The artists explore these in-between spaces, inviting us to reflect and find possibility even in shadow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=http-3A__www.aarp.org_nycaregivers&amp;d=DwMFAg&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=bGsAqilxaE8fkJLhWUS0ke5nVialK73LUx1lYakdPXbpd0R995ckBkGYiOn1m1ZK&amp;m=KTd6clQZF8HMAY4nAlMfX8KVkcxfAYeuaAwocnnCxYsRtypccdOLaZ4AaLOVReDV&amp;s=q60mHLLZR5GRD7l1tupic6r4akk_NroxIhAsmZz4u6Y&amp;e=\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n  <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mobile-none lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Care-NY-Family-Caregiving-Digital-Ad-728x90-1.jpg\" alt=\"Care NY Family Caregiving\" width=\"728\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\"\/><br \/>\n  <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mobile-only lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Care-NY-Family-Caregiving-Digital-Ad-468x60-copy.jpg\" alt=\" NY Family Caregiving\" width=\"468\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The roster of artists is as diverse as it is accomplished, including Yael Ben-Zion, Gina K Callaghan, Arcadia Caraballo, Gwendolen Cates, Karin Dando-Haenisch, Rose Deler, Carol Diamond, Dale Emmart-Lieberman, Kat Gooch-Breault, Wilhemina Grant-Cooper, Jyoti Gupta, Alison Hamilton, Avery Hines-Mudry, Kathy Houle, Carolina Jimenez, Flor Khan, Chae Kihn, Andrea Kornbluth, Christy Martinez, Francesca Messina, Margo Moore, Rosa Naparstek, Mesoma Hammida Onyeagba, Paula Maria Persiani, Bonnie Jean Phillips, Leah Poller, Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, Yumi Rodriguez, Darcy Rogers, Susan Rubin, Anne Saint-Pierre, Diana Schmertz, Maria Schoenhammer, Uniqua Simmons, Elizabeth Star\u010devi\u0107, Janet Stewart, Kathleen Sweeney, Tania Taubes, Rafaelina Tineo, April Kristine Tsosie, Yona Verwer, and Linda Vigdor.<\/p>\n<p>With \u201cWomen in the Heights: Shade,\u201d NoMAA continues to foster artistic exploration, dialogue, and empowerment, demonstrating that even in shadow, creativity and community shine brightly.<\/p>\n<p>Image provided by Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance<\/p>\n<p>Latest Posts:<\/p>\n<p>Become a Harlem Insider!<\/p>\n<p>From history to today\u2019s headlines\u2014everything Harlem, in your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>By signing up, you&#8217;re agreeing to receive communications from Harlem World Magazine and our Privay Policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By HWM The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) is celebrating the 17th edition of its landmark annual exhibition,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1149,128,469,9,24,62572,62573,63,129,131,130,62574],"class_list":{"0":"post-149291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-bronx","10":"tag-harlem","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nomaa","14":"tag-northern-manhattan-arts-alliance","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-the-bronx","17":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","18":"tag-the-bronx-news","19":"tag-women-in-the-heights-shade"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}