Harlem School of the Arts Receives $9.5 Million for Renovations

A 55-year-old arts institution gets upgrades inside and out.

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By Hasham Nusrat

A major renovation is underway at the Harlem School of the Arts, thanks to a $9.5 million dollar donation from the Herb Alpert Foundation. The improvements are expected to be completed by July.

The Renaissance Project, which began last month, includes substantial upgrades to the building’s façade and interior. With a new image, the school, which has had periods of financial instability, can generate income by attracting organizations that want to rent space for private events, said the school’s president.

“$9.5 million deals with brick and mortar,” said Eric G. Pryor, president of the Harlem School of the Arts. “It doesn’t support the operating costs, administration costs, or performing costs. Everything else we fundraise for is dealing with people and for our programs.”

The building’s new façade will incorporate 1800-square-feet of glass. The plans also include a new roof, energy-efficient windows, acoustical improvements, new first-floor bathrooms and a much-needed upgrade to the electrical system, which cost the school $50,000 in fines over the last 11 years for not being up to standard, Pryor said. The school’s café and courtyard garden will receive face-lifts too.

The renovation is also designed to promote the school as an arts center Harlem residents can visit.

“I saw the rendering over there by the side of the building,” said Jomari Rosad0, whose daughter Naima is an acting student. “It looks really nice.” But Rosado, a Harlem resident and social worker, worries that the renovations will increase tuition. “As much as I appreciate a new glitzy building, I care more about my pockets,” she said.

Manny, a parent of a 7-year-old student, is excited about the changes. “Renovation is a good thing, good for kids and community,” said Manny, who preferred not to give his last name, adding the school is a source of community engagement.“Kids need to express themselves through the arts.”

The Herb Alpert Foundation has helped the Harlem School of the Arts before. In 2010 it gave $500,000 when the school faced a two-week closure for lack of funds. Since then, Rona Sebastian, the foundation’s president and a Harlem School of the Arts board member since 2012, has helped support the school. The foundation, named after jazz musician Herb Alpert, donates to organizations focused on the arts.

“We were not only contributing to them with money, but we were contributing to them by extending my time and my expertise to the school and also, therefore, as a board member,” said Sebastian.

Aubrey Lynch II, a former dance captain for “The Lion King” on Broadway, has directed the dance department at the school since 2011. “For the first time in a long time, it will look like on the outside what’s happening on the inside,” he said. “Because the inside is shiny and beautiful, educational. It’s family, community, empowerment.”

The school’s curriculum includes music, dance, theater, and art and design. It also has a professional scholarship program that offers advanced arts training to students who plan to attend college after graduation, said Pryor.

The history of Harlem School of the Arts, which serves students ages 2 to 18 and also offers adult classes, dates back to Dorothy Maynor, a renowned opera singer who founded the school in 1964 during an era of racial segregation. She borrowed $5 million from the Bowery Savings Bank, with a guarantee from the Ford Foundation. Maynor repaid the loan in five years.

“We still have to raise money, you know, to support our programs to put us in a position to be able to give the best training to our children,” said Pryor.

Harlem School of the Arts has partnered with Jazz at Lincoln Center for the last three years, launching a beginner’s band program. It also expects to work with the American Composers Orchestra to develop a program focused on composition. In addition, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers is giving scholarships, said Sebastian.

“If you look at just the number of arts organizations alone in this city that are doing amazing work,” said Pryor, “I consider us one of those.”

(Additional reporting by Rita Omokha)

(Photo by Hasham Nusrat)

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