Our Mission
Kota’s mission is to create more equitable communities for marginalized women and girls through advocacy, arts, and wellness programs. Our work bridges local activism in West Harlem with women’s issues and social change globally.
Our Framework for Equity and Collaboration
Kota’s approach draws inspiration from global models of social design — particularly those emphasizing gender equity, collective wellbeing, and community collaboration. While rooted in Harlem, our structure reflects lessons from frameworks where art, wellness, and advocacy coexist within everyday life.
At Kota, we reinterpret that model through Harlem’s lens: transforming the principles of inclusion, empathy, and balance into creative practice. This framework allows the organization to operate holistically — blending artistic expression, women’s wellness, and cross-cultural dialogue and experiences into one integrated system.
Our Arts & Culture Programs
Kota functions as an intercultural hub, connecting Harlem’s creative and historical legacy with the broader movement for global inclusion and equity. Through arts and culture, Kota interprets and uplifts local experiences, ensuring that the challenges and triumphs of Harlem’s women and communities are seen, felt, and understood within international conversations about gender and justice.
Our programs are designed to expand access, amplify women’s creative voices, and deepen cultural connection within Harlem and beyond. We work in collaboration with community partner organizations as we collectively foster a community of belonging and connection.
The Kota Nest–Our Community Hub
Through the Kota Nest, our Harlem-based community hub for creativity and connection, we create space—literally and figuratively—for women-led collaboration, rest, and cultural exchange.
Our space serves as a hub for the community, serving women identifying adults and girls where they can see what empowerment looks like at the neighborhood level, not just in theory. Kota Nest also serves as a community space: a home for dialogue, interdisciplinary exchange, and the intersections between art, wellness, and social impact, creating adjacent experiences that deepen engagement.
Testimonials
“Our communities need more events like this, the arts offer so much healing in the midst of of uncertainty/ societal uproar. This event healed parts of me today”
“To make art that reflected and be displayed in my neighborhood was special. Also, connecting with fellow artists and the curators was a joy. This exhibition gave me the gift of community”
“The event made me feel connected to a community of beautiful spirits.”
“I would not have been able to afford it, if not for the low cost. Opened up my throat chakra and gave me the know-how to speak what I need to”
“Very enriching and calming. Allowed me to be vulnerable with myself and learn how to be vulnerable with others.”
Threaded Realities Art Exhibition
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Threaded Realities Art Exhibition *
The Kota Alliance is excited to present our 2025 Art Exhibit, Threaded Realities: Women, Identity & Fashion, running from November 6th to December 3rd at the Kota Alliance.
Rooted in Harlem’s vibrant fashion culture, this show embraces pieces that explore how fashion serves as a thread of identity, memory, protest, and power. From hand-sewn stories to visual statements, Threaded Realities celebrates fashion as a feminist and communal language—where we dress not to be defined, but to define ourselves.
Come see the artworks at the Kota Alliance!
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm
Weekends by appointment
Send us an email: info@kota-alliance.org
43 St Nicholas Pl, 10031 New York
