A sustained becoming: Studio Museum Artists in Residence 2026

The Studio Museum in Harlem is showing A sustained becoming, a group exhibition by its 2026 artists in residence: Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina and Taylor Simmons. It runs through January 3, 2027. The three are the first cohort to work in the J. Bruce Llewellyn Artist in Residence Center, part of the museum's new building that opened in November 2025. Their residency ran from March 15 to October 15, 2026, and this show is its culminating presentation in the galleries.

The residency was proposed when the museum was founded in 1968 and began in 1969. It supports emerging artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent, and its alumni now number more than 150, including David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu and Tschabalala Self. The exhibition is organized by Adria Gunter, Assistant Curator, with support from Cam McEwen, Studio Museum/MoMA Curatorial Fellow.

Figuration is the thread that links the show. The artists work in painting, collage, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and mixed media, each with a distinct approach. Real and otherworldly images merge in ways that recall remembering or dreaming. Rooted in cultural memory, the works hold a moment in suspension, inviting viewers to imagine what has already happened and what is still to come.

Derriann Pharr (b. 1998, Winfield, Alabama; based in Birmingham) draws figures that shift shape through gestural marks, with fluid contours that sidestep naturalistic description. Her work considers identity, memory and the bodies of marginalized people in the American South. She holds a BFA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Simonette Quamina (b. 1982, Ontario, Canada; based in New York) spent her early years between the Caribbean, South America and New York. She makes monumental prints and graphite collage drawings that revisit personal and collective histories and romanticized ideas of the Caribbean. She earned an MFA in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. Taylor Simmons (b. 1990, Atlanta; based in New York) layers acrylic, oil, airbrush and wax into neon-toned images drawn from music, found photographs and viral video clips, and his work questions the conventional performance of masculinity.

The museum is at 144 West 125th Street, between Malcolm X Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. It is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Suggested admission is $16 for adults and $9 for seniors, students and visitors with disabilities. Sundays are free for everyone.