Kim Hamilton, a visual artist herself, grew up surrounded by the work of one particular contemporary artist out of the Harlem Renaissance, her uncle, Bradford Hill. Muhammad, whom she reveres as a master oil painter and portraitist. Mr. Muhammad, who has had extensive artistic training and an impressive resume, made his living as a master cabinetmaker.

Commenting, Ms. Hamilton-Shakir says, "Before HLG opened its doors, I had never seen his work in a museum or gallery setting." Together, they decided to open the Galleries to showcase their work. Mr. Muhammad and Ms. Hamilton, however, are the only artists who show exclusively with HLG.

Originally conceived as an artist cooperative, Hamilton Landmark Galleries opened its doors in the autumn of 1997, its mission; dedicated to the presentation of fine art, the development of contemporary artists, and the documentation of fine art collections.

Galleries has presented the work of more than seventy contemporary artists from the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe; painters, ceramists, sculptors, printmakers, muralists, graffiti and mixed media artists, and photographers. Many of these artists have work featured in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museums, the Brooklyn Museum and the Schomburg Library. Periodically, HLG opens its doors for the enjoyment of other fine arts with readings from poets and playwrights and live musical concerts. Some of these are quite impromptu.

The Galleries' attraction to patrons is the positive spiritual aura that exudes from its state of the art viewing environment. HLG is situated in a landmark building erected in 1886 among a group of other buildings completed between 1886 and 1890. It represents one of the oldest structures in the district, a picturesque block in the village of Harlem's Hamilton Heights historic district.