The WEST HARLEM ARTS ALLIANCE is proud to present
Innovation Triangle:
Connect and Create West Harlem Arts
ABOUT THE INNOVATION TRIANGLE
The Innovation Triangle is where art, culture, and commerce come together in an open invitation for all to participate in West Harlem’s cultural renaissance.
Activation of the “Innovation Triangle” within Manhattanville’s old Factory District fulfills WHAA’s vision to facilitate and develop collaborations through partnerships with local business, educational, civic, and cultural organizations to support the arts in West Harlem.
By amplifying the voices of diverse artists and highlighting local businesses, WHAA ensures that the evolving identity of West Harlem is not only preserved but celebrated and reimagined.
As you find your way and walk by the magnificent TAYSTEE building along 126th Street, we invite you to explore the “Art, Culture & Commerce Wall of Fame” and to watch local artists at work in open studios, to join workshops, panels, exhibitions and community events, and to learn about and support small businesses — both long-standing and newly rooted — that help shape West Harlem’s cultural and commercial landscape.
The Janus Property Company, a real estate development firm that values people and neighborhoods is proud to support West Harlem arts organizations through this partnership with WHAA.
Activation of Manhattanville’s rising commercial corridors would not be possible without the support of our project sponsors: The West Harlem Development Corporation, NYC Small Business Services, The Janus Property Company, Council Member Shaun Abreu, and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Art
Artists in Residence
PAUL DEO
Paul Deo
Paul Deo is a visionary artist revolutionizing the integration of spirit and technology. Growing up between New York City and New Orleans, he found early inspiration in the Apollo Theater performances of soulful artists and dancing in the streets to the second line parades of New Orleans, absorbing the rich flavors of both cultures. His psychedelic historical paintings and murals illuminate many areas throughout NYC. In 2019 New York Magazine voted his renowned, mixed media mural, “Planet Harlem” as one of New York City’s Best Places to Visit.
From painting street gang jackets as a 7-year-old to his current work designing in 3D virtual reality space, as winner of NY Foundation of the Arts’ Electronic Arts Fellowship 2023, Deo puts his heart and soul into everything he does. With a degree in Information Technology, he has continued to explore the connections between left and right brain to tap into infinite creative potential. Inspired by his work with refugee orphans from Guatemala and Honduras, he developed MyndTeam, an Intelligent Personal Assistant which allows users to create personalized teams of advisers in cyberspace.
Through his StuDeo company, Paul is known for sparking inspiration with his uplifting and energetic art teaching style. His students include incarcerated, at risk high school teens, and young people from elementary to college level. Most recently, he received the prestigious Carnegie Hall NeON Arts Grant and used it to start StarSeed World, digital arts entrepreneur school. Through StarSeed and StuDeo, Paul continues to embody his vision of opening the doors to the infinite potential of digital technologies and imagination to help his students heal, entertain and become financially independent.
Website: pauldeo.com
SAGE GALLON
Sage Gallon
Sage Gallon is a multi-disciplinary artist, born in New York and raised in California and New York, known for his paintings, photography, and spoken word poetry. He is a self taught artist who transitioned from a challenging period of homelessness to become an award winning artist, using his experiences to inform his work. His art explores themes of identity, social constructs, and the interconnectedness of human experience.
Born in New York, Sage Gallon spent his formative years in a Northern California commune before moving back to West Harlem. He began drawing before writing and acting before spelling. Gallon’s work is characterized by figurative abstraction, employing mediums such as watercolors, acrylics, oils, and mixed media. His photography often takes on a documentary style, capturing real-life moments with a visceral quality. He also writes and performs poetry, and creates films. Gallon’s journey includes a period of homelessness and addiction, which he uses as a foundation for his art, exploring themes of resilience, empathy, and social injustice.
His work delves into the complexities of identity, particularly within the Black community, and examines social issues like homelessness and racial injustice. Gallon’s art has been exhibited in galleries and museums, including the African American Museum in Philadelphia. He has been featured in various publications and documentaries, including being named one of NBC’s “40 Black Artists to Watch”. He is also the President and Founder of Raindeer Productions.
Gallon actively participates in community-based art initiatives like Art on the Ave NYC, emphasizing the importance of making art accessible to all communities.
Website: sagegallon.com
NOAH JOSEPH-ORTIZ
Noah Joseph-Ortiz
My name is Noah Joseph-Ortiz, and I’m a technical designer and sample developer from Harlem, New York. For the past seven years, I’ve been working out of SoHarlem, a creative incubator supporting emerging designers like myself. My focus lies in pattern making and technical design, with a strong foundation in graphic design, screen printing, and garment embellishment techniques such as embroidery. I’ve spent years refining my skills in Adobe Creative Suite and am currently expanding into 3D CAD software, specifically CLO3D. My work reflects a blend of hands-on craftsmanship and digital precision, making me a well-rounded force in sample development. As a young designer navigating the fashion industry from Harlem, I take pride in being somewhat of a unicorn—uniquely positioned and constantly evolving in a space that often overlooks talent like mine.
Website: soharlem.org/soharlemapprentices/art-in-heaven-by-noah-joseph
RAFAELA LUNA
Rafaela Luna
Born in the Dominican Republic, Rafaela Luna moved to West Harlem in the early 2010s and was immediately struck by its expansive diversity and rich cultural heritage. Over the ensuing years, Rafaela collaborated with many area artists and residents from all over the African and Latina American world, noticing the dichotomy of their daily life experiences. Accordingly, Rafaela work began to represent these contrasts in the female figures of different ethnicities.
Rafaela’s creative journey in West Harlem has been a continuous interrogation of her diverse surroundings, and a dialogue between inner reflection and external realities. Living between cultures, Rafaela learned early to recognize the silent codes that govern social interaction—the quiet tensions, unspoken rules, and the subtle glances that separate and define us. These formative experiences have shaped her vision as an artist, compelling her work to examine not only the world around us but also the invisible boundaries that shape human connection.
This heightened awareness led Rafaela to notice how difference is both celebrated and problematized, how communities are stitched together with both pride and suspicion. Vivacious colors and forms collided, reminiscent of the vibrant mosaic of her home country that stand in bright contrast to the sometimes-uneasy coexistence of modern American experiences.
Website: rafaelaluna.com
TOMO MORI
Tomo Mori
Tomo Mori is a painter, collage and fiber artist, who was born in Japan and now powerfully expresses her creativity in Harlem. Holding a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art (now SCAD Atlanta), she brings over 11 years of invaluable experience from the international news industry, where her insights into the world profoundly shaped her artistic vision.
Currently, Tomo is thriving in the studio program at Children’s Art Carnival in West Harlem, where she nurtures artistic growth. In 2023, she seized the opportunity to participate in the prestigious Winter Workspace Residency at Wave Hill. Her dedication has earned her scholarships from the IFPA/EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop for 2022-2025 and from Chashama in 2016.
Her artwork has been exhibited in prominent venues, including Upstate Art Weekend, The Golden Thread 2, FiveMyles, Christie’s, Swann Auction Galleries, Scope Miami, Flux Art Fair, Rush Art Gallery, and the Newark Museum, where it has resonated deeply with diverse audiences.
Tomo’s unwavering dedication to public art demonstrates her desire to make a meaningful impact on the community. She has successfully completed significant commissions for leading institutions, including Columbia University in 2016, MTA Arts and Design in 2018, Governors Island in 2019, Swan Reserve Hotel in 2021, and Mount Sinai Hospital in 2024. Her journey exemplifies the transformative power of art to inspire, connect, and uplift.
Website: TomoMoriArt.com
CARLOS NAZARIO
Carlos Nazario
SoHarlem Designer-in-Residence, established his atelier in 2020 to provide couture garments to his clients. Based on decades of experience, Carlos can transform an idea into an actual product with the skill sets that he honed as a pattern maker, designer and seamstress.
The “Black Dandy” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art saw his partner’s peak lapel jacket with wide flared pants, the print of which was designed by Carlos Nazario and entitled “Curiosity.” “Curiosity “ deals with the aspects of isolation and lack of intimacy in a world over-saturated with external stimuli, and where the mind goes when it’s looking for the next “best” thing. Sometimes dark or surreal or introspective depending on your outlook in life. Carlos passes his expertise on to SoHarlem’s trainees and apprentices through regular instruction and guidance.
Instagram: @nazario8310
JAY WEST
Jay West
Jay West is a contemporary Artist from Harlem, NY, who is quickly gaining recognition as one of the most promising young artists in New York. This brilliant young Artist’s work is about “mixing opposites” and making “worlds collide”. Drawing from a wide spectrum of inspirations, West’s paintings deal with subjects as diverse as popular cartoon characters, religion, technology and Greek mythology.
From a more global perspective, his work embodies “tales of defeat and triumph” as well as oppression and celebration. Subverting the Grandiose aura of Art History through his adaption of pop aesthetics. Using both the expressiveness of Abstraction, surrealism, and the stylistic rendering of Graphic Inspiration.
Website: jaywestone.wordpress.com
ART EXHIBITIONS
West Harlem Hall of Fame
On view through September 2025 at the Innovation Triangle
Manhattanville: Hidden in Plain Sight Exhibition and Panel
Exhibition on view every Wednesday & Thursday 12 noon to 4 pm | Panel August 19th at 6pm
ART HAPPENINGS
Open Studios
Every Thursday through September, 4-8 pm at the Innovation Triangle.
Manhattanville: Hidden in Plain Sight Exhibition and Panel
Exhibition on view every Wednesday & Thursday 12 noon to 4 pm | Panel August 19th at 6pm
Under This Sky: The Manhattan Project
Wednesday thru Fridays
12 noon to 4PM
SoHarlem Pop Up at Innovation Triangle
Pop-up and sewing demonstrations
Great Films You May Never See!
September 28, 2025
12-9 PM
Welcome to Colorcon 2025!
September 27, 2025
12-6 PM
Beyond This Moment | Innovation Triangle-West Harlem Wrap-up Celebration
September 25th
5:00 – 8:30 PM
Jonah Kreitner & Lucas Cohen of “Good News”
September 25, 2025
6:00 – 6:30 PM
SND X West Harlem Arts Alliance
September 25, 2025
6:30 – 7:15 PM
ELEANOR by Thy-Lan Alcalay
September 25, 2025
6:30 – 7:15 PM
Movement Speaks® All TogetherDance Workshop for Older Adults and Families
September 24, 2025
3:00 – 4:15 PM
1616 ART SALON by Adrian K
September 24, 2025
5-10 PM
Connect & Create with Surrealist artist Ruthy Valdez
September 19
5:30-8:00PM
Under This Sky: Manhattan Project Collaborative Teaching Panel Discussion
September 18th
5:30-7:30 PM
EPPERSON “Spring/Summer 2026 Presentation”
September 15th
5:00-7:00 PM
Atomic Excellence
September 13th
4:00-9:00 PM
F.C. Harlem Mural Paint Party
September 13th
1:00-4:00 PM
BOOKBAGS & BRUSHSTROKES
Sunday, September 7
@ 1PM
MODArts Dance Collective Open House
August 28th, 10 am to 2 pm &
August 30th, at 2 pm
“1616 ART SALON” by ADRIAN K
Pop Up on Wednesday, August 27
6 PM – 10 PM
Kids Art Studio – Make Paint Play by Adrian K Studio
Workshop on Saturday, August 23
11 AM – 1 PM
Creative & Unbothered: Teen
Saturday, August 16th
12–5pm
Paint & Sip with Surrealist artist Ruthy Valdez
Friday, August 15th | 5:30-8:30 pm
SOLD OUT!
Expression Avenue
World Premiere & Grand Culminating Event on August 14 at 3 pm.
CULTURE
COMMERCE
Featured West Harlem Businesses
Taystee Lab Building is the only new, ground-up, purpose built commercial life sciences building in New York with multiple occupancy options.
SIZE: 350,000 RSF
FLOOR PLATES: 15,000 – 36,000 RSF
SPECIAL FEATURES:
More than 20,000 RSF of private terrace outdoor space, plus 5,000 SF of publicly accessible outdoor space, including direct access to 125th Street
LEED (silver) certified
Visit janusproperty.com and taysteebldg.com
MAP
Wayfinding to Featured West Harlem Businesses