Artist Talk | Women in the Heights: Shade

17th annual exhibition
CURATED BY ANDREA ARROYO

ARTIST TALK: Thursday, March 19, 6-8pm

EXHIBITION DATES: February 25 – April 24, 2026

NoMAA Gallery
4140 Broadway (176 St)
Gallery hours are Saturdays 1-5 (excluding holidays) or by appointment. Email studios@nomaanyc.org

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS from Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood:

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, Liz Ritter, Yumi Rodriguez, Darcy Rogers, Susan Rubin, Anne Saint-Pierre, Diana Schmertz, Maria Schoenhammer, Uniqua Simmons, Elizabeth Starčević, Janet Stewart, Kathleen Sweeney, Tania Taubes, Rafaelina Tineo, April Kristine Tsosie, Yona Verwer, Linda Vigdor 

Shade explores the intersections of light and shadow—literal, social, and emotional. In every culture and community, shade carries layered meanings: it can offer refuge or concealment, protection or defiance, acceptance, or rejection.

From throwing shade to sheltering in shade, from colorism in race to color range in art, shade speaks to power, presence, and the unseen forces that shape how we move through the world.

How does shade define visibility? How do we navigate the tension between exposure and cover, clarity and ambiguity, belonging and otherness?

• This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

• Women in the Heights: Shade is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

• Support from New York State Senator Robert Jackson.