Wakeupworld Salon: Harmonia Rosales

Join us for Wakeupworld Salon: Harmonia Rosales, organized in the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance's famed salons that brought together communities of artists and intellectuals to foster creativity and explore themes also found in our centennial exhibition100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity.

Afro-Cuban artist and author of CHRONICLES OF ORI: An African Epic, Harmonia Rosales, joins us with Olaronke Akinmowo, founder of The Free Black Women's Library, to explore myth-making, African spirituality, and Black imagination across visual and literary arts. The intimate conversation will take place atop of the famed Houston Conwill cosmogram Rivers with small bites and beverages. A book signing will follow the conversation.

The evening is dedicated to Schomburg's enduring role as a research center and a convening space for intergenerational conversations, world-building, and creativity. This is the fourth installment of our Wakeupworld Salon series. *The salon takes its name--Wakeupworld--from Countee Cullen's mythical creature in his poem The Wakeupworld.

HARMONIA ROSALES

Harmonia Rosales is a Chicago-born, Afro-Cuban American artist and author whose work centers the visibility and empowerment of Black women in Western art. Rosales is a catalyst reshaping where the Black figure belongs – not only in museums, but in libraries, in the canon of history, and in sacred spaces. Through fine art, literature, and media, Rosales gives life to the Orishas, elevating them to the cultural prominence of the Greek gods. Her mission is to serve as a conduit for these powerful deities, ensuring their stories resonate within global consciousness and claim their rightful place in contemporary culture. Rosales transforms how the world engages with African spirituality and mythology, moving the Orishas from the margins of memory into the center of reverence and pop culture.

Her debut novel, CHRONICLES OF ORI: An African Epic was published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc in 2025. In Chronicles of Ori, her debut book, Harmonia Rosales retells the African myths she has long treasured, crafting an enthralling epic that spans the birth of the universe to the modern world of colonialism and resistance. The Orishas are ilustrated throughout with Rosales’s spectacular paintings.

THE FREE BLACK WOMEN'S LIBRARY

The Free Black Women's Library is a social art project launched in 2015 by Olaronke Akinmowo. It serves as a literary hub, social site and community care space and is currently located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The library features a collection of over 5000 books written by Black women and Black nonbinary authors, a free store, period pantry, backyard garden, weekly book swap, reading club and free public programs. Our public programs include writing workshops, art classes, book talks, film screenings, game nights, cultural presentations, a weekly book swap and so much more. All ages, races and genders are welcome to read, write, work, reset and day dream in the space whenever we are open.

This year, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding! Join us all year long for a wide array of special events, exhibitions, and more as we celebrate this milestone and continue the legacy of Arturo Schomburg.

Schomburg100 | Exhibition | Special-Edition Library Card | Become a Member

#Schomburg100

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FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested.

ACCESSIBLILITY Accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that personal and professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

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Host or Publisher Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture