First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Harlem, Oct 2025

The Colored Girls Museum × The Children’s Art Carnival

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Harlem

Exhibition Dates: September 26 – November 2, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, September 26, from 6 to 8 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 4, from 4 to 6 pm

Art Workshop 1： Portraits As You Are, For Who You Are

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025, 4:30–6:00 pm
Instructor: Dionis Ortiz
Cost: FREE (donation appreciated!)（RSVP)

Art Workshop 2：Picture yourself: Let’s build ourselves up!

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 4:30–6:00 pm
Instructor: Kephera Ife
Cost: FREE (donation appreciated!)（RSVP)

Location: The Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY 10031

https://youtu.be/816dK-lERK4

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is a traveling group exhibition commissioned by The Colored Girls Museum (TCGM). The title of the exhibition, inspired by Roberta Flack’s iconic 1972 vocal rendition, was chosen as a love song to black girlhood by TCGM’s Founder, Vashti Dubois. Tasked with creating portraits of Black girls ages 10 – 18, the series to-date features six paintings by artists and their muses:

Misha McGlown & Madison Proctor
Nile Livingston & Tyjanae Williams
Chanell Phillips & Christen Harvey
Serena Saunders & Myka Ollison
Aysha Ray Walker & Haley Ray
Tara Pearson (aka Misty Sol) & Ayah Pearson

The Children’s Art Carnival (CAC), in partnership with The Colored Girls Museum, has commissioned three additional artists, all from Harlem, to create new portraits to contribute to the traveling series. The artists and their muses are :

Moses Harper & Cayla McTair
Kephera Ife & Shiloh Lecky
Gwendolyn Black & Zoe Browner

All nine portraits, which include the original six, will be on display at CAC from September 12, 2025, through November 2, 2025.

About The Colored Girls Museum
The Colored Girls Museum is a Black-women founded, collectively-led house museum whose mission emerges out of our sincere duty to African Diasporic histories, cultural traditions, and political commitments. The museum is located at 4613 Newhall St, Philadelphia, PA 19144. Please visit thecoloredgirlsmuseum.com to book an appointment and for more information.

About the Children’s Art Carnival: Since 1969, The Children’s Art Carnival has provided arts programs for young people and families in West Harlem and the broader Harlem community. Understanding that the arts are a bridge to learning and to overall competency, CAC’s long-standing objective has been to support the development and growth of participants from early ages through adulthood and to provide creative experiences that will engage young people, their families, and community members. We are equally committed to providing professional development opportunities and resources to early-career and emerging artists from Harlem, New York City, and throughout the region.

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is made possible with funding from West Harlem Development Corporation, New York Council on the Arts, Harlem Development Corporation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Ruth Foundation for The Arts and donations from New York Film Academy and Hamilton Heights community and beyond.

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Harlem, Oct 2025

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Harlem

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