The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. is a public art and media organization based in the City of New York, founded in 1998. Savona Bailey-McClain is its Executive Director and Chief Curator. Scope of activities The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. offers exhibition opportunities for artists and creative professionals in public spaces in Northern Manhattan. The WHAF also is engaged in historical and cultural heritage projects and supports support community involvement in local development. Its organizational symbol is the double crocodile from West Africa (one of the Adinkra symbols). Funtunmmireku-Denkyemmirreku means unity in diversity. Public art for the West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. can include traditional exhibitions, photo installations, windows, digital and live performances. Whether commissioned or through agency programs. The organization promotes art in public parks and other open spaces throughout NYC. It also advocates to local City and State officials on behalf of parks for better maintenance, lighting and needed landscaping. History It took The West Harlem Art Fund five years to place its first installation in Historic St. Nicholas Park. The exhibition “Three Men Walking” featured the artist Kirsten Campbell and her work “Moving Beyond” in May, 2003. Overcoming negative stereotypes and doubts, the success of the exhibition “Three Men Walking” helped the organization to sponsor and produce more outdoor installations. The West Harlem Art Fund has now exhibited in all four Historic Harlem Parks, nearby smaller parks, lobby spaces, sidewalks, storefronts in Harlem but also in Times Square, DUMBO, Governor's Island, Queens, Bronx and Lower Manhattan. The organization has also produced concerts, historical re-enactments, theatrical and storytelling events. Artists have included Barbara Siegel, Luisa Caldwell, Robert Hickman, Florencio Gelabert, Sandor Camille, Julio Valdez, Queen Esther, Jann Parker, Patrick Singh, Dianne Smith, Nora Mae Carmichael, Richard Gonzalez, Sai Morikawa, Scherezade Garcia, Iliana Emilia Garcia, Ellen Maynard, Kiki Smith, Vicki DaSilva, Kyuseok Oh, and Bentley Meeker. In 2005 and 2008, the project “Take Me to the River” was launched. Phase I and II of this project raised $550,000 dollars through New York State's Environmental Protection Fund which was administered by the New York Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. Those studies further leveraged $40 million from the City of New York to begin capital improvement in 2010. The West Harlem community will have better waterfront access along the Hudson River, new playing fields, picnic areas from 145th to 155th