Studio Museum in HarlemWHERE BLACK ART LIVES

A digital museum meeting ground where the voices of Black art come alive

Context
Founded in 1968, the Studio Museum in Harlem stands as the nexus for artists of African descent. The institution's name, a trifecta of Studio, Museum, and Harlem, symbolizes its spirit. As a Studio it funds emerging artists and offers them studio space, and as a Museum, it curates a compelling collection supporting underrepresented artists. Rooted in Harlem's cultural legacy, the museum is a bastion of Black art. It's a site for stirring conversations amongst its visitors; a hub for dynamic exchanges and sharing ideas about art and society.
Challenge
Preparing to move and transition to a more formal posture, the Studio Museum sought a website redesign to align with its evolving institution. The aim: achieve greater accessibility for a broader community. The Studio Museum actively redefines the museum experience as a vibrant meeting place reverberating with life, sound, and dynamic energy. BaseNYC and BaseDGTL embraced the challenge of translating this vitality and communal spirit into an engaging online platform.
Solution
Inspired by Harlem’s iconic brownstone stoop, our website design transforms into a dynamic meeting place, echoing the lively streets with sounds and voices. Embracing noise as a concept, we digitally mirror the museum's living space, presenting artworks immersed in the context of neighboring creations. Shifting the focus from artworks to the artists themselves, the new website features engaging video and audio clips within the margins – peripheral "chatter" to capture the animated essence of the Studio Museum’s setting.

Founded in 1968, the Studio Museum in Harlem stands as the nexus for artists of African descent. The institution's name, a trifecta of Studio, Museum, and Harlem, symbolizes its spirit. As a Studio it funds emerging artists and offers them studio space, and as a Museum, it curates a compelling collection supporting underrepresented artists. Rooted in Harlem's cultural legacy, the museum is a bastion of Black art. It's a site for stirring conversations amongst its visitors; a hub for dynamic exchanges and sharing ideas about art and society.

Our website design for Studio Museum in Harlem was selected to be featured in The Best Museum Website Designs by DesignRush.

Credits

Creative Direction
Min Lew, Ross Gendels
Digital Design & Development
Mirek Nisenbaum, Andrey Starkov, Artem Lyustik, Sergey Khegai, Marc Hill, Andrey Starkov, Olya Sidorchenko, Volha Trehubava, Ji Park, Mariana Solis, Mitya Sudakov
Project Management
Harry Laverty, Vivian Valentin, Masha Basyrova
Digital Strategy
Jerry Johnston

Awards

2023 AIGA 365 Year in Design
Winner in Experience / Product / Service / Systems Design
2024 PRINT Magazine
Editors’ Choice Winner
2024 PRINT Magazine
1st Place in IX/UX Design
2024 Creative Review
Honorable mention in Digital Design – Websites
2023 Awwwards
Honorable Mention in Website

Meatpacking District

Radically refreshing the website for NYC’s most dynamic neighborhood

Studio Museum in Harlem

A digital companion to Tom Lloyd's rhythm and invention