From 1970 - 1978, Gylbert Coker, the first chief curator of the museum set up the registration system for the SMH art collection which was later housed in The State Office Building. She arranged for the saving and cleaning of the WPA murals in Harlem Hospital that were done by Charles Alston. She curated several major exhibitions, among them, Bob Thompson (which revitalized the recognition of Thompson's art work), Hale Woodruff:50 years of His Art, and Contemporary African American Photographers.