Announcing the 2023-24 Recipients of The Residency for Experimental Arts Education

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our 2023-24 cohort of Resident Artists — Niousha Kiarashi, Noormah Jamal, and Maria D. Rapicavoli.

Beginning in September, residents will implement an ambitious arts curriculum at each of our partner sites throughout New York City. Together, they'll dedicate an unprecedented amount of time to arts education as they design curricula, work directly with local students, publish research, and create an original art installation at their respective sites.

Niousha Kiarashi

Sid Miller Academy

Crown Heights, Brooklyn

About Niousha

Niousha Kiarashi is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Tehran, Iran. She holds an MFA in Integrated Practices from Pratt Institute and a BFA from Tehran University of Art and Architecture. Her media- and research-based practices combine science, environmental studies, psychology, and technology. She is passionate about creating alternative and sustainable ways of understanding our surroundings and working with diverse communities to put these experiences into practice.

About Sid Miller Academy

Sid Miller Academy is a District 75 school providing highly specialized instructional support for students with significant challenges, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, significant cognitive delays, and sensory impairments. Their mission is to ensure that all students are safe, while providing transitional opportunities, promoting accelerated learning, and reaching the community to promote proficient readers, independent thinkers, and future leaders.

“I have learned a lot from my past experience working with children and look forward to expanding and sharing my own working practice through their magical world of wonder with this opportunity at Children's Museum of the Arts.”

Noormah Jamal

Children's Workshop School

East Village, Manhattan

About Noormah

Noormah Jamal is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist originally from Pakistan. She earned her MFA in Painting and Drawing from Pratt Institute (2023) and holds a BFA in Mughal Miniature painting from The National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. Her work centers around identity and the personal baggage that people carry. Heavy in symbolism, she approaches much of her practice through a child's lens.

About Children’s Workshop School

Founded in 1993, Children’s Workshop School is a progressive public elementary school rooted in the ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr. — freedom, equality, mutuality, respect, racial justice, grassroots organizing, and advocacy. The goal of Children’s Workshop School is for each child to recognize that they have the power and resources to effect change and grow to be responsible, critical, and caring members of a pluralistic society.

“I am eager to foster mutual growth with my students, creating a space where we can all tap into our creativity, express ourselves, and learn from each other.”

Maria D. Rapicavoli

Hudson Guild

Chelsea, Manhattan

About Maria

Maria D. Rapicavoli is an artist and educator born in Catania, Italy. She was a fellow in the Whitney Independent Study Program in 2012 and received her MFA from Goldsmiths University of London (2005) and BA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania (2001). She draws inspiration from her native Sicily, a place that holds deep significance as a point of both departure and arrival. Her work explores the sea and the sky as sites of transit where individual narratives intertwine with international politics. 

About Hudson Guild

Founded in 1895, Hudson Guild’s mission is to create and sustain a strong, effective community that acknowledges and responds to the potential, achievements, and interdependence of its diverse members. Rooted in and primarily focused on Chelsea and the west side of Manhattan, Hudson Guild seeks to empower all individuals and families to achieve their highest potential, while maintaining a priority focus on those in economic need.

“The Residency for Experimental Arts Education represents a unique and exciting chance for me to merge my two passions — art and education — without compromising either. I strongly believe that artistic practices and creative community spaces can generate significant social changes by supporting and nurturing the next generations of artists and future generation leaders.”

Support the work of our residents by donating to The Emergency Arts Education Fund, which brings ambitious arts instruction to schools whose art programs have been decimated by recent budget cuts. Give Now