The Importance and Legacy of the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem

Young participants on the front steps of the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem (photo unknown, courtesy the Children’s Art Carnival) via Hyperallergic

Although Harlem is well-known as a cultural hub for Black artists of various mediums, it also has a history of being overlooked and underserved in comparison to other pockets of Manhattan, leading to grassroots organizations and community-based programs to fill the gaps the city often didn’t provide. The Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem is one of them. Hyperallergic shares the importance of the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem and it’s history of motivating children to nurture their creativity.

In March 1969, at the first-ever Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem, artist, activist, and educator Betty Blayton-Taylor looked on as groups of children painted at easels and strung objects together to make hanging sculptures. Held in a garage provided by the Harlem School of the Arts, the event engaged artists to conduct workshops for local kids. “Children can just as well use their energy to be creative as destructive,” Blayton-Taylor told the New York Times in a 1969 interview. “They’re having fun and that’s what we want.”

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