Programs

  • Cultural Workforce Program

In partnership with primary partner Janus Properties, and community based organizations, we hire underemployed master artisans to train unemployed residents in the skills they need to obtain cultural industry jobs.

SoHarlem takes a holistic approach to developing its workforce by investing in the whole person, providing each with a comprehensive set of resources that address basic needs and enhance quality of life.

Faculty and Staff

To provide trainees with  the required professional services, SoHarlem has assembled a team of seasoned professionals  with  backgrounds in the arts, conservation and preservation, education, life skills, site beautification, public arts, steel, textiles, mosaics and jewelry.

Artisans provide critical input in the design of the training programs, from creating curricula to hands- on instruction in the production and manufacturing of textile design, glass, and other functional and wearable art for wholesale and retail sale.

Current Training Tracts

(Each includes a recycling component)

  • glass & Tiles – Trainees will work with master artisans to develop murals from recyclable glass, tiles and other materials to create mosaics and signs for commercial and outdoor streetscapes in need of greater visibility.  Glass and tiles also includes decorative mirrors and frames for homes and businesses.

 

  • Couture - Trainees will work with master seamstresses to learn fabrics, hand and machine stitching, pattern-making, and to operate sewing machine s used in the industry.  Their skills will be applied to making quilows, quilts, scarves, pillows, quilts, wraps, tee-shirts and other clothing and accessories.

 

  • Creative Consumable Products & Services - Trainees will learn to produce healthy products including soaps, lotions, oils and candles as well as the  chemistry behind this art. Working with an  Aroma Therapist, trainees will learn about the oils, uses, forms and applications of aromatherapy.

 

  • Jewels & Gems  - Trainees will learn to create jewelry from found and recyclable  materials.  Working with Master designers of jewelry they will learn design and jewelry construction, preparation, and finish to create one-of-a-kind  jewelry.

 

  • SoHarlem’s Cultural Tourism Academy to train tour guides recruits local high school seniors, unemployed residents and others who will staff the new Harlem Hospitality Center and be prepared to seek employment at other tourist outlets in Harlem.

Contact jobs@soharlem.org for further information.

Creative Entrepreneurs

Program Description:

As part of SoHarlem’s Cultural Workforce Program it provides support to growing new businesses committed to establishing cultural industry jobs.  Entrepreneurs gain access to SoHarlem’s business and creative environment, as part of the incubation process at SoHarlem, thus empowering them to grow potential markets, develop and implement formal business plans, and conduct product tests runs.

The goal is to assist, these growing businesses to move into their own commercial spaces in the Manhattanville Factory District.  The site, currently under redevelopment by Janus Properties Company,  includes the former Taystee Bread Bakery.  The complex, which is 328,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space, is slated to open in 2015.  The developer is committed to including tenants from creative industries at a subsidized rate.

Business Partners

SoHarlem partners with creative entrepreneurs:

  • Whose work falls outside the realm of traditional venues, and is accomplished by creative leaders;
  • Ideally potential business partners need to have in place, legal incorporation, business identity that allows them to develop required marketing and public relations (logos, brands, website, portfolios);
  • who are committed to further developing businesses that will generate cultural industry jobs;
  • who are capable of raising their own startup capital or funds; and
  • within a set time-frame are capable of launching their businesses independently in the Manhattanville Factory District.

To inquire about this program please send an email to: info@soharlem.org

Creative Outlet Program

The Creative Outlet, SoHarlem’s earned income program, addresses community needs by promoting and marketing products made primarily by locally based master artisans and trainees.  Featured in our online showroom, and on the premises of SoHarlem, are creative items that serve a functional or wearable purpose from jewelry to textile designs, designer tiles and plates, walking sticks, quilts, mosaics, designer framing, designer cards, art publications, soaps, oils and other home and creative –consumable products.  Please visit our virtual shop by clicking on this link: http://www.soharlemshop.com/