ABOUT

Our Mission

The Morningside Art Exchange (MAE) is a community-based arts collective currently operating in the Morningside Heights/Harlem area. We curate people-centered events designed to build connections through shared experience, connect artists to new target audiences, and create spaces oriented around joy, expression, growth, vision, and inspiration. Our artist network spans all mediums and senses, while vendors and performers work in fine art, clothing, pottery, music, wares, performance, literature, food, and more.

Our goal is to foster community, collaboration, and curiosity for artists and creative individuals by creating accessible exhibition opportunities and meeting audiences where they are. We aim to change the narrative about art being pretentious and inaccessible by centering community over hierarchy, passion over profit, and growth over stagnance.

Our Vision

Looking to the future, we aim to grow beyond Columbia University and establish deeper roots within the broader artistic communities of Morningside Heights, Harlem, and the Upper West Side. Our vision is to become a leading hub for creative collaboration: offering design services to local businesses, curating cultural events that honor the area's rich history and legacy, and using art as a medium to advocate for and empower underserved communities.

By breaking down the barriers between Columbia students and the neighborhood they inhabit, we will foster meaningful connections through shared experiences, new perspectives, and accessible, community-centered art.