[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E787-E788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ANNOUNCING THE BID ON CULTURE BANNER PROJECT UNVEILING IN CELEBRATION 
                        OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Artists 
whose designs were selected through the BID on Culture banner design 
competition. The banner designs for BID on Culture will be displayed in 
March 2009 as part of Women's History Month, celebrating the 
contributions of women to Harlem and to communities of color, in the 
fields of

[[Page E788]]

government, arts and culture, business, education, and religion.
  BID on Culture is a new initiative developed through the partnership 
between the 125th Street Business Improvement District and the Harlem 
Arts Alliance to help build a community-based vision of Harlem's 
heritage, its role as a vibrant cultural center, and to promote the 
continued revitalization of 125th Street as the commercial and artistic 
heart of Harlem.
  BID on Culture Banners will extend the brand of 125th Street as the 
center of culture in Harlem, a diverse community with an unparalleled 
history of contribution to the nation in all fields of human endeavor. 
Let me recognize the five selected artists whose banner designs will be 
displayed on the 125th Street Corridor.
  Andrea Arroyo, a Mexican born, New York-based artist whose work has 
been exhibited in twenty-four individual and more than eighty group 
shows in galleries and museums. Andrea is in the public collections of 
The Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, The 
Library of Congress, the Mexican Museum in Chicago and numerous private 
collections in the US, Mexico, Europe and Japan. Her public art 
projects include commissions for the Metropolitan Transportation 
Authority of New York, the New York School Construction Authority, City 
Arts and the Florida Art in State Buildings Program.
  Laura Gadson is a native New Yorker raised in Jamaica Queens. A 
graduate of Fiorella LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, she 
received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the City College of New 
York. She has been a teaching artist since age 14 for a variety of 
public and private New York City institutions. Ms. Gadson's craftwork 
is in the private collections of Susan Taylor, Iyanla Vanzant and other 
collectors. Her work has been exhibited in the New York State Museum in 
Albany, The Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center, Columbia University and she 
currently has two quilts on a National Tour until 2010. A Harlem 
brownstone has been her home studio and personal gallery since 1993.
  Obatola Wilhelmina Grant, a native New Yorker and resident of Harlem 
is an assemblage artist, creating pieces from discarded objects. 
Obatola was formerly the Director of Programs and Administration at the 
National Jazz Museum in Harlem and before that the Director of 
Community Outreach for SHARE, Self-Help for Women with Breast or 
Ovarian Cancer. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Language Arts 
from Hunter College and expects to graduate in June from Hunter with a 
Masters of Science in Urban Affairs. She has exhibited at Bank Street 
College, Union Theological Seminary, the Simmons Gallery and the New 
York Public Library.
  Sharon Lewis, a graphic designer, originally from Detroit, Michigan, 
now based in New Rochelle, New York, Sharon is a Production Associate 
at DMD Insight, a boutique agency specializing in integrated marketing 
for arts and culture, architecture, design, philanthropic and financial 
services clients. She has a BFA in Industrial Design from Columbus 
College of Art and Design and her career focus has been print design in 
the fields of publishing, advertising and law.
  Shimoda, a Harlem-based artist, whose work has been featured on 
television on The Cosby Show, HGTV-Crafting Coast to Coast, in the 
magazines Essence, Braids and Beauty, and YSP, and the book Jumping the 
Broom: The African American Wedding Planner, among others. Shimoda's 
exhibit and presentation schedule includes Bank Street College, The 
National Black Arts Festival, The Mt. Vernon Library, Mt. Vernon NY, 
the Center for Book Arts, and the Donnell Library in New York City. She 
serves on the crafts panel for the Artists' Fellowships of the NY 
Foundation for the Arts, has taught beading at Brooklyn Academy of 
Music and Harlem School of the Arts, assisted Sonya Clark and Joyce 
Scott at Penland School of Crafts, NC and Ralph Lauren with his 1998 
beaded jewelry collection.
  The 125th Street Business Improvement District (BID) is a non-profit 
organization funded primarily from an additional tax assessment 
collected from the property owners within the defined boundaries. 
Organized in compliance with state and city laws, the property and 
business owners determine the services and programs needed for the 
district. The BID will utilize the competition to bring visibility to 
its streetscape improvement efforts and to enliven the community's 
central business district.
  The Harlem Arts Alliance (HAA) is a non-profit membership service 
organization committed to nurturing the artistic growth and 
organizational development of artists and arts organizations primarily 
in Harlem and its surrounding communities. Comprised of over 400 
individual artists and arts organizations, HAA is the only service 
organization of its kind in Harlem and plays an essential role by 
helping to build the resources, network and capacity of its richly 
diverse membership. Counted among its members are young emerging 
artists as well as established and internationally recognized artists. 
Also represented are small grassroots organizations and major cultural 
institutions in Harlem and beyond. Major funding for HAA is provided by 
the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Corporation, the New York City 
Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York City Council.
  Barbara Askins, President of the 125th Street BID says the BID on 
Culture project ``seeks to maximize the value of the 125th Street 
corridor by initiating efforts to secure the future of cultural 
presentation and production in Harlem and to encourage the ongoing 
revitalization of 125th Street as a premier arts and culture 
entertainment destination.''
  Michael Unthank, HAA Executive Director, says that ``over the past 10 
to 15 years,
  125th Street Corridor has emerged as a major destination anchored by 
not just local and national chain retail outlets but also by major 
cultural institutions such as the Studio Museum in Harlem and the 
Apollo Theater.''

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