--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I began working within the streets of…" description: "\"I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after graduating from Yale [University, New Haven, CT], I became the artist in residence at the St..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg" --- # I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after… ![“I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after graduating from Yale [University, New Haven, CT], I became the artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem [New York, NY]. I wanted to know what that was about. I would actually pull people from off of the streets and ask them to…” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg) > “I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after graduating from Yale \[University, New Haven, CT\], I became the artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem \[New York, NY\]. I wanted to know what that was about. I would actually pull people from off of the streets and ask them to come to my studio.” [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He immersed himself in Harlem streets to engage community, turning public spaces into artistic collaboration. **In simple terms:** He worked in Harlem to involve locals in his art. Key Takeaway Engage community through art. Themes community art collaboration urban education Mood reflective inspired Type artistic social When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public workshops - community outreach - artist residencies Key Concepts social practice participatory art cultural exchange Questions to Reflect On - How can artists ensure genuine community voice? - What obstacles arise when merging art with activism? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers to participation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Harlem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harlem/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Yale university](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yale-university/) ## Related quotes > [When I went to the Studio Museum in Harlem, there was a type of freedom that existed where I didn't have to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/when-i-went-to-the-studio-museum-in-harlem-there-was-a-type-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In the Studio Museum in Harlem, when I was dealing with that community and dealing with my peers in the streets, it allowed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/in-the-studio-museum-in-harlem-when-i-was-dealing-with-that-community/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I developed 'Power: From the Mouths of the Occupied' while I was an Artist in Residence at Kalamazoo College.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/i-developed-power-from-the-mouths-of-the-occupied-while-i-was-an/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [The museum in D.C. is really a narrative museum - the nature of a people and how you represent that story. Whereas the Studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-adjaye/the-museum-in-d-c-is-really-a-narrative-museum-the-nature-of-a-people/) [David Adjaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-adjaye/) > [I am a professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University, where I teach an introductory class in cosmology. I see the deficiencies that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyamvada-natarajan/i-am-a-professor-of-astronomy-and-physics-at-yale-university-where-i/) [Priyamvada Natarajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyamvada-natarajan/) > [“A group of ten prisoners from Dachau, I was with them, we hid in the forest to wait for the Americans. The Germans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-troncoso/a-group-of-ten-prisoners-from-dachau-i-was-with-them-we-hid-in-the/) [Sergio Troncoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-troncoso/) > [I am someone who values truth - actual truth as opposed to "truthiness." I am also someone who has been trained in deconstruction in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-am-someone-who-values-truth-actual-truth-as-opposed-to-truthiness-i/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [“Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/too-often-we-hold-fast-to-the-clich-s-of-our-forebears-we-subject-all/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I first became interested in women and religion when I was one of the few women doing graduate work in Religious Studies at Yale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-p-christ/i-first-became-interested-in-women-and-religion-when-i-was-one-of-the/) [Carol P. Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-p-christ/) > [A Yale University management professor in response to student Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service: The concept is interesting and well-formed, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-w-smith/a-yale-university-management-professor-in-response-to-student-fred/) [Frederick W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-w-smith/) > [“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-great-enemy-of-truth-is-very-often-not-the-lie-deliberate/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [To cite my own alma mater, it's shocking to me that Yale University can teach what it teaches at the Yale School of Environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/to-cite-my-own-alma-mater-it-s-shocking-to-me-that-yale-university/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Information design has been around since the 1970s. Pioneers like Yale University design guru Edward Tufte and design agency Pentagram have long known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/information-design-has-been-around-since-the-1970s-pioneers-like-yale/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [When I was in school, my mother stressed education. I am so glad she did. I graduated from Yale College and Yale University with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-bassett/when-i-was-in-school-my-mother-stressed-education-i-am-so-glad-she/) [Angela Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-bassett/) > [“The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/the-milgram-experiment-on-obedience-to-authority-figures-was-a-series/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) ## More by Kehinde Wiley > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The erotic and the art historical imagination is something that gets very little play when people talk about my work, and when they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-erotic-and-the-art-historical-imagination-is-something-that-gets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think the world that I grew up in was like being in this sort of magical artistic garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-the-world-that-i-grew-up-in-was-like-being-in-this-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [It was something that came sort of matter-of-factually. Because there - it's like really - real honest engagement with the people around me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-was-something-that-came-sort-of-matter-of-factually-because-there/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting is situational. And my particular situation exists within gender, race, class, sexuality, nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-is-situational-and-my-particular-situation-exists-within/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think, something that you might be able to locate in the work that I'm creating today: the ability to look at a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-something-that-you-might-be-able-to-locate-in-the-work-that-i/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-the-los-angeles-county-museum-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Explore all 275 Kehinde Wiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after graduating from Yale [University, New Haven, CT], I became the artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem [New York, NY]. I wanted to know what that was about. I would actually pull people from off of the streets and ask them to come to my studio.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-harlem-where-after-graduating/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-harlem-where-after-graduating/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-ha_2894302.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I began working within the streets of Harlem, where, after graduating from Yale [University, New Haven, CT]…” — Kehinde Wiley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kehinde Wiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I began working within the streets...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-harlem-where-after-graduating/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-began-working-within-the-streets-of-harlem-where-after-graduating/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```