Dasha Zhukova, the former fashion designer, magazine publisher, and museum founder, has launched a new real estate development company called Ray. Its first project, Ray Harlem, is a 21-story residential building on Fifth Avenue in Harlem, built in collaboration with the National Black Theatre (NBT). The development replaces NBT's original building and integrates a 27,000-square-foot theater as its centerpiece, with 222 apartments above, a quarter of which were offered through an affordable housing lottery. The building features site-specific commissioned artworks by emerging Black artists such as Jurell Cayetano, Freddy Carrasco, Nikko Washington, and Ellon Gibbs, and was designed by Frida Escobedo Studio with Handel Architects.
This project matters because it represents a novel intersection of real estate development, cultural preservation, and art commissioning, driven by a prominent figure from the art world. Zhukova's vision for Ray was inspired by her experience co-founding the Garage Museum for Contemporary Art in Moscow, where she observed how architecture and art can create community gathering spaces. By embedding a historic Black theater within a luxury residential tower and commissioning works from emerging artists, Zhukova is attempting to model a new kind of urban development that prioritizes cultural and community engagement alongside commercial viability. The project also highlights ongoing conversations about gentrification, affordable housing, and the role of art in shaping public space in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Harlem.