"Video Games: The Great Connector” opens from Feb. 3-March 30 at the Harlem School of the Arts.
One of the many game developers highlighted is Catt Small, a Bronx native who started coding at 10. She developed SweetXheart, a game that follows a week in the life of a modern Black woman.
The Harlem Gallery of Science (HGS), a partnership between Science and Arts Engagement New York (SAENY) and The City College of New York, launches a new pop-up exhibition: "Video Games: The Great Connector” from Feb. 3-March 30.
The exhibition is free and open to the public at the Harlem School of the Arts on 645 Saint Nicholas Avenue. For hours and to reserve free-timed tickets, click here.
“I am thrilled that the Harlem Gallery of Science is launching the exhibition Video Games: The Great Connector to inspire the youth and adults in our communities to explore academic and career opportunities within New York City’s dynamic digital gaming industry," said CCNY President Vincent Boudreau. “We at City College, with NYC’s support, are pleased to have created the Gaming Pathways Program, which is offering classes, public access bachelor’s degree in video gaming in New York City. This new degree program will open many doors for our students to meaningful, well-paying careers in this and related industries.”
The goal of the exhibit is to inspire Black and Latinx youth to explore the academic and career opportunities in the rapidly expanding global digital gaming industry. The exhibit is part of a city initiative from the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment that founded the Gaming Pathways Program at City College, a program that leads students to pursue a degree in digital game design from CCNY.
“When industries aren't diverse, especially industries and entertainment or storytelling, they end up telling stories to the same people and that ignores whole markets of storytellers and whole kinds of stories,” said Nick Fortugno, director of the Gaming Pathways Program at CCNY and co-founder of Playmatics.
New York City teachers and administrators can reserve one-hour and twenty-minute time slots at the exhibition for class trips by going here. The website also offers educational materials that can be used before and after a visit, both in classrooms and in homes, as well as original interactive and video content that features games and their Black and Latinx designers.
The exhibit is organized into three sections:
- CONNECTING WITH SELF allows visitors to examine how youth use games to shape their identity, manage their emotions, and acquire skills;
- CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY lets visitors investigate how youth use games to foster community and enhance their awareness of the world around them; and
- CONNECTING WITH FUTURE gives visitors a chance to explore how youth use their interests in games to connect with careers in the gaming industry.
Throughout the exhibit, visitors will play games, meet historic and contemporary figures in game design and engineering, and uncover the invisible design behind their gaming experience. The exhibition is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Harlem Community Development Corporation, government grants and other philanthropic foundations, industry and individual donors.
“The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce in partnership with HARLEM WEEK, Inc., proudly salutes the Harlem Gallery of Science on the opening of its exhibition, Video Games: The Great Connector. While highlighting the need for youth from communities of color to acquire the education required to pursue ever increasing career opportunities in the digital game industry, it also serves to reinforce the historical connection between play, learning, and entrepreneurship,” said Lloyd Williams, president and CEO of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.
“The Chamber and HARLEM WEEK have focused over the past decade on a technological and digital transformation agenda aimed at reducing the urban digital divide in knowledge and career opportunities. As the Chamber continues to work to attract tech start-ups as well as mature tech companies to Harlem, the need to develop a talent pool to fill the employment and business opportunities that are being created, assumes critical urgency. The Harlem Gallery of Science is a strong partner in this initiative," he said.
For more information, please visit www.hgs-ny.org, or contact Stan Altman, president of the Harlem Gallery of Science at stan@scienceartsengagementny.org or call 917-434-9035, and Claire Altman, advisor to the Harlem Gallery of Science at claire@altmanstrategies.com or call 917-721-8103.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi (now Lightcast) puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.