The women who keep things running around here are honored in the heart of Harlem 

 

It was mid-November and I had lived in my studio apartment for less than 2 weeks when my neighbor from down the hall made her presence known. With the keen eye of a long-time resident who’s seen tenants come and go, she sized me up then offered her support. “You ever need anything,” she advised from her doorway, silk press grazing her jawline, “you just let me know.”

 

Days later, I was knocking on her door trying to locate an 8-foot rose gold Christmas tree that was marked ‘delivered’ but nowhere to be found. I couldn’t believe something so bulky had gone missing and neither could she. While she couldn’t help me track it down — I had to arrange for a redelivery — her ability to suspend judgement in the midst of my first-world meltdown felt like safe harbor. It wasn’t long before we were swapping holiday greetings through text. Over the last ten years, we’ve retrieved each others’ packages, survived a pandemic (and now, a local outbreak of Legionnaire’s), and used her Ring camera footage to find lost pets and children. I even snagged an invite to her birthday party (but it is not your business how old she turned). My parents blessed me with 9 blood-related aunties by birth, but my choice to make a home in Harlem means they’re all at least a plane ride away. 

 

★ See “Aunties” on TikTok ★

 

Lucky for me and everybody in the village, Harlem is filled with surrogate aunties. I’ve written about these women before and my fervent hope to join their ranks. They’re the ones who’ll tell you when your bag is unzipped during your commute and remind you that the asparagus at Whole Foods is overpriced. It would be a mistake to write off these women as busybodies, because you should want them keeping an eye on things. They’re the ones passing out food at the Salvation Army on Lenox Ave so people don’t go hungry, keeping young people off the corner so violence isn’t their only choice, and joining Democratic clubs to mobilize voters and ensure representative democracy. Be so very grateful when an auntie takes an interest in you (and so very concerned if you’re the only one they don’t greet in the elevator.)

 

Fitgi Saint-Louis, a multi-disciplinary artist and educator based in Harlem, understands the power these women bring to their communities. Her bold-hued minimalism is right at home in the traffic island out front of where Lenox Lounge once stood. Once you’ve seen her work, her style is instantly recognizable. In her paintings, wooden wall hangings, and murals, Saint-Louis’s practice of separating shapes into quadrants and filling them with shades of the same color family creates familiarity and dimension. Each of the circular faces in“Aunties” contains four different shades of brown, like a pie chart with an every-auntie vibe. No matter her match in Fenty Beauty’s 40-shade range, she’s represented here on the block. 

 

★ See “Aunties” on TikTok ★

 

While the three figures clearly belong together, each has her own style. The red auntie on the left wears a high bun with a bayang, a circle on her midsection hints at pregnancy. The green auntie on the right dons a sleek middle part. In the center, the yellow auntie has covered her head in a multi-colored wrap. The figures don’t need facial features to imply mood or demeanor, or for you to pick a favorite. I’d trust Ms. Yellow to point me in the direction of a good nail salon nearby, while I think Ms. Red prefers to paint her own nails at home, and Ms. Green likes to keep things polish-free.

 

 

Ms. Saint-Louis’s public art footprint is spreading across the city and building a universe to which we can all aspire. In addition to “Aunties” at 124th and Lenox, she has installed “Fanal: Fe Limye” in St. Nicholas Park. The acrylic and wooden sculpture is illuminated from within, which gives the green, yellow, and red panels the inviting glow of a gingerbread house. The structure combines elements of Haitian fanal lanterns with West African architecture to create “a world that is not currently present yet possible.” Both are on view in Harlem and within walking distance. If you’re up for a trip to Brooklyn, you can see Saint-Louis’s mural, “We Gon’ Be Alright” at Kings County Hospital which features an even larger range of skin tones, gender expressions, and hairstyles. The mural, which shares a refrain with Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 anthem “Alright” and a Kendrick-inspired gospel song by Tye Tribbett from 2022, depicts a world where the aunties are one of many kinds of New York City neighbors, creating the impression that the three-figures simply stepped out of the hospital wall and planted themselves in Harlem.

 

The colorful trio will abide with us for a year. From there, they may travel to a new home or return to the two-dimensional plane of the mural. While they’re here, let them nudge you into thanking and supporting the caretakers doing invisible work in your community. Better yet, ask them how you can help. May we all find ease while they brighten the intersection, since any block an auntie choses to inhabit is changed for the better.                 

 

blacklove 🖤 and starlight 🌟 

 

“Aunties” by Fitgi Saint-Louis is one of five public works, one per borough, commissioned by the NYC Department of Transportation. The Manhattan commission is located in Harlem on 124th Street & Lenox Avenue, steps away from the 2/3 Subway station. This outdoor installation is free, open to the public, and on view through April 2026. “Aunties” was previously featured in the Black Star Reviews’ August preview. Learn more about Fitgi’s work on her website.