David Antonio Cruz is a marvelous painter. Both dramatic and very deep, David through his paintings and performances,attempts to lure the viewer in with a candy coated veneer, ensnaring them within the folds of the familiar. But the candy soon rots, the colors become toxic and the fairytale takes a turn for the worse. The paintings, performances, and videos aspire to be as seductive as an awful relationship that keeps you coming back for more. Failure underlines a humanity that then becomes a way of breaking through to some other reality in a constructed world that is meant to fall apart.

Manny Vega has been an important for East Harlem for over two decades. Born in the South Bronx, New York, Vega studied at the High School of Art and Design in New York City from 1970-1974. He joined the artist collective Taller Boricua in 1979 where he studied through 1984. While there he was also a pupil of legendary Harlem printmaker Robert Blackburn at his Printmaking Workshop from 1980-1990.

The West Harlem Art Fund is proud to spotlight Mequitta Ahuja, member of the Weaving In and Out Now exhibition. Mequitta received her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2003, mentored by Kerry James Marshall. She has had solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Lawndale Art Center in Houston and BravinLee Programs in New York. Her works have been included in group exhibitions at The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston and The Ulrich Museum. Mequitta exhibited in Global Feminisms at the Brooklyn Museum.

The Dance Theater of Harlem organizes lovely open houses that features many professional dancers. A fantastic exhibition featuring costumes of their varios productions are travelling around the country now. My favorite is the Firebird. Visit the organization online at Dance Theater of Harlem.

In our year of partnerships, the West Harlem Art Fund is working with Ms. Barbara Bullard, partner of Al Johnson Art, a commercial and fine arts company started in June 2005 with artist Al Johnson. Ms. Bullard has been instrumental in developing exhibition of artists nationally and internationally. We spotlight Chrisitian March. A third generation tool and die maker, he followed a naturally prescribed path from trade school to industry and would eventually teach the very machinist program he graduated from. The work featured is recycled bicycle parts.

The West Harlem Art Fund is showing some new photo images of its exhibition at the African Burial Ground featuring the artist Patrick Singh who will be coming back this fall. It's a little stylized but nonetheless very moving. It was a huge success with a panel discussion and reception that drew fans from the south of France. ABG even kept the lights on at night to offer a spectacular view that could be seen a block away in Lower Manhattan.

WHAF is so honored to have Ms. Sai Morikawa as a guest curator for this year. Morikawa studied at The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts with Henry Finkelsten and also Mary Beth Mackenzie. She earned a Certificate for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts at the National Academy. Her background in anatomical studies and visual perception is complemented by a focus on the importance of individual expression in the making of art. Her dynamic color brush strokes are influenced by the Abstract Expressionists. She paints mostly from direct observation. She is the curator for our Sleeping Beauty installation that features Mr. Kenjiro Kitade. Public viewing is scheduled for this coming July, 2010.

The artist's work has to be recognized. This kind of innovation is possible in NYC and in Harlem. Simply stunning! Kudos to Inhabitat.com for sharing with us. The South African designer Heath Nash unveiled a colorful, eclectic chandelier made almost entirely from recycled PET bottles at this year’s Milan Design Week. Dubbed Bottleformball, the brilliantly-hued recycled creation is crafted from multicolored pieces of salvaged bottles attached to a hand-made wire structure. We love how the artfully arranged bottle pieces look almost like colored ceramics when illuminated from within.

“Funtummireku denkyemmireku, won afuru bom, nso wodidi a na wo.” (Two-headed crocodile which struggles for food that goes into the same stomach.) It's our African symbol.