Founded in 1968, the Studio Museum in Harlem was established as the first museum dedicated primarily to the work of artists of African descent, providing exhibition space, studio residencies, and educational programming in a neighborhood long central to Black artistic life. Its artist-in-residence program has supported the early careers of numerous prominent contemporary Black artists, and the museum has played a defining role in shaping the market and critical recognition for African American and African diaspora art since the late 20th century.