Ep.63: Harlem Raised: Film w/ Maysles Documentary Center, Food w/Sugar Hill Creamery, Nature w/ Brotherhood Sister Sol; Music by Vagabon

Maysles Documentary Center by Chris Zapata

The Maysles Documentary Center is the only independent film space in Harlem devoted to documentary filmmaking. It amplifies under-represented artists and stories, while empowering young filmmakers.

Founded in 2005 by Harlem resident and filmmaker Albert Maysles, a pioneer of direct cinema and non-fiction filmmaking, the space has become a hub to watch and create films, media based programs for adults and young people, and community-led partnerships to develop film production skills.

Its programming is rooted in the power of storytelling, with topics including the Black Panther movement, films made in Harlem about Harlem, the New York African Film Festival, and Congo in Harlem. At the documentary center, Chrystal meets with Art Jones, lead educator at Maysles. He explains how they continue to enhance connections between film and Harlem residents.

Sugar Hill Creamery Ice Cream by Evi Abeler

Harlem's only family-owned ice cream shop, Sugar Hill Creamery's flavourful ice cream menu is inspired by the people and cultures that make up Harlem.

Founded by longtime residents of the area, husband and wife team Petrushka Bazin Larsen and Nick Larsen, the first Sugar Hill Creamery opened in 2017 within the Mount Morris Park District of Harlem. It has since become a fusion of Harlem, community and food through a love of handmade small batch ice creams and sweet treats.

The flavors including A$AP Rocky Road, Sweet Socialism, Don Cartagena and Bourbon Pecan are inspired by the area as well as Petrushka and Nick’s own Caribbean and Midwestern cultures. A space for community events such as new mum’s groups and kids art classes, they’ve now opened a further two spaces, one to the East and one to the West of Harlem.

Their ice cream can also be enjoyed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, and at Time Out Market in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Vita and Chrystal stop by their Mount Morris location to chat with Petrushka about the relationship between ice cream and Harlem’s community, and taste test a few of their seasonal flavors.

Sugar Hill Creamery Founders & Family by Ajene Farrar

The Brotherhood Sister Sol

The Brotherhood Sister Sol was established in 1995 and has since been at the forefront of community programming which centers young people of color towards social justice and equitable futures. The organization is based out of 512 West 143rd Street, serving the residents of Harlem and their needs. An urban gardening and farming movement is at the heart of their programming led by youth members and the Harlem community.

As caretakers of the NYC Parks Department Green Thumb Frank White Memorial Garden they have developed a 6,000 square foot loft into an Environmental Learning Center that includes a green house and Urban Farm, producing more than 35 varieties of fruits and vegetables. The organization also facilitates an International Study Program (ISP) in Africa and Latin America towards leadership development, Pan African and Latino history and international awareness.

On a visit to BroSis Sol’s Green Youth Market which sells around 4 tons of fresh and organic fruit and vegetables each season to residents impacted by poor access to produce, Vita and Chrystal meet Nando Rodriguez, the senior manager for environmental programming, to find out more.

Brotherhood Sister Sol Members at Green Youth Market

Cameroonian American singer-songwriter Laetitia Tamko, known by her stage name, Vagabon, speaks with Stance about her new album Sorry I Haven’t Called.

She studied at Harlem’s College of New York (CUNY), and having grown up in NYC, it’s a place which continues to guide her artistry. Since the release of her debut album Infinite Worlds in 2017, and self-titled second album in 2019, Vagabon’s multi-instrumentalist approach channels dreamy vocals, indie rock and electronic pop to create her sound.

Vagabon’s latest release, Sorry I Haven’t Called is a spirited 12 track dance-pop album which embraces dance floor revelations in the midst of grief and emotional rebirth. Vagabon wrote and produced the album in a small town in Northern Germany during a period of introspection after experiencing the loss of a close friend. Chrystal meets with Vagabon ahead of her performance at the Music Hall of WIlliamsburg in Brooklyn, to chat about her work and upcoming gig.

Vagabon Tracks Used In This Podcast, With Thanks Nonesuch Records:

Front Page Image: Vagabon by Ace Amir