See More Children's Museum of the Arts 12/18/23 Artists in Schools Noormah's Reflections: November CMA Resident Artist Noormah Jamal on her November projects at Children's Workshop School. NEXT IN

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 4/29/23 Kids Art 5 Aquatic Creatures from CMA's Permanent Collection of Children's Art NEXT IN

2/27/24 Interviews Catching Up with Emma Moore, Graphic Designer for Kasmin Gallery The artist and designer reflects on her Arkansas childhood and the formative educational experiences of her youth. Click to expand media gallery. As summer vacation came to an end, Children's Museum of the Arts and Kasmin came together to host SUMMER SCHOOL: Where Does Arts Education Happen? , a public forum on the state of arts education in New York City. The gathering became a space for families, non-profit professionals, teaching artists, and gallerists to come together and share generative conversations on the ever-expanding arts education landscape in NYC. The conversation even continued outside after the event, where an ice cream truck served up childhood staples. Kasmin's Graphic Designer Emma Moore produced an interactive workbook that became the hallmark of the evening. Inspired by Bruno Munari and childhood school assignments of yore, the workbook encouraged artists of all ages to reflect on where, and how, arts education fits into our lives. Download it in its entirety here Below, CMA chatted with Emma about her Arkansas childhood, the formative educational experiences that led to her becoming an artist, and the publications that sit on her bookshelf. Snapshot of Emma's Arkansas upbringing Where are you from and what is the arts community like there? I'm from Little Rock, Arkansas — it's my quirky fact. Arkansas and its art community has changed a lot, especially in the Northwest region with the Walton Family and the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. The Arkansas Arts Center is in Little Rock, and there's definitely a solid community of artists there as well. Art is often one of the first things to go, but in my experience it was always available. There was always a camp or a program, either at the library or at the Arkansas Arts Center. My parents knew that I liked art, and I remember always having something to do, a class to take or a program to be in. I had really supportive parents, which made a huge difference. I went to a public elementary school, then a private Christian school for middle school. By high school, my parents knew that I wanted to do art, so they sent me to Little Rock Central High School. It was the first desegregated public school in the south, so it’s also a cultural landmark. There’s an overall lack of arts funding and programming for public schools in the state of Arkansas, but Little Rock Central gets a lot of support because it is also part of a national park . There is a ton of preserved history there, which is cool to see. Do you feel that going to that high school is what put you on the path to where you are now? Totally. It has an incredible art program where we also got to compete. We always did well, and I’m a competitive person, so that was really fun. My brother played sports, so I was always trying to find ways to prove myself. I had a lot of great art teachers, but my favorites – Rex Deloney and Jason McCann – were major influences. They encouraged me to go to the SCAD summer program before my junior year, and helped me get into the Arkansas Governor’s School, a summer program for Arkansas high school students going into their senior year. Both of those programs gave me my first taste of what life could be like in college and expanded my knowledge and experience of art. I wouldn't have gotten those opportunities if it weren’t for those teachers. I thought I really wanted to go to SCAD, but one of my teachers encouraged me to go to Pratt, and I got in. I wouldn’t have come to New York City for college if it weren’t for that encouragement. And I had parents that were like, "Go do it. Do it well, but go do it." Do your parents have an arts background? No, not at all. I would say that they're creative, though. My grandfather was an agricultural engineer, and he was always inventing and drawing things. My dad is a doctor, but he definitely has that creative impulse. My mom likes to think she isn't creative, but I secretly think she is. She’s a wonderful cook, and taught me a love of cooking that she was taught by her mother. I also have two really special step-parents, Marc and Casey, who have in many ways been even more encouraging and supportive than my biological parents, though admittedly are not artists either. Is there a moment or experience from your childhood that set you down the artistic path that you’re on now? There are certain habits I had as a kid that I think are still with me. I had this red clipboard that I took with me everywhere (it was called Red Board). I always had my drawing stuff. I drew a lot as a kid, and all through high school, which has since been replaced with crocheting and making lots of lists. My mom likes to tell me that when I was little, she would put me in a cardboard box, give me markers, and I would just sit in there and draw. I used to love cutting up Play-Doh, and my brother and I would do these shaving cream paintings with my mom. She was a speech pathologist who worked with kids, so she definitely had the patience for all of that. There was also a time when I was in the Parrish Art Museum in Long Island, just before my senior year of high school, and I saw a painting that made me cry. I don’t remember who it was by, but it was a small oil painting of waves and a red sun. It was nothing much really, but it was the first time I ever responded to art in that way. I ended up writing my college entrance essay about that moment, so I like to think that it definitely put me on the path in one way or another. Do you have siblings? Are you the only artist in the family? I have an older brother and six younger siblings. My youngest brother is super into Halloween and he makes these insane haunted houses every year (check him out @JMHaunts on Youtube ). He can paint anything, draw anything, make anything. He’s way better than me at a much younger age. It's really cool to see. What would you say your art practice is now? I am curious if other designers feel this way, because I feel like we are less likely to call ourselves artists. But I went to school for graphic design at Pratt, and I feel like they really encourage designers to think and work as artists. People have really expanded what the word “practice” means so I try to be careful about using that term, but I do approach design with a ‘practice’ in mind. I try to start with an instinct or an initial response to the brief, and then I research, I look at references (shameless plug for Are.na , which I love), I make sketches, and then I go from there. At Kasmin, I’m the in-house graphic designer, so I’m constantly reiterating and refining. A lot of my development as a designer has happened here at the gallery. They have really given me the space to do that, and I love who I get to work with. I also try to be really physical. My work at the end of my time in school had a lot to do with the body; I was really interested in how graphic design could make visual the things we experience physically day-to-day. My thesis was called Intimate Spaces, which I started in the fall of 2019 and finished in the spring of 2020, so it ended up being fairly… relevant, haha. I was introduced to the Bartenieff Fundamentals and Rudolf Laban through a class and I incorporated a lot of those techniques and theories into my projects. I embroider and crochet all the time. I am currently trying to untangle one of the most ferocious knots I’ve ever encountered. Ultimately, I try to take it off the computer as much as I can. The workbook is a great example of that. That’s where I feel the most comfortable, making tangible things. The workbook was so tactile. It wasn’t something you read from cover to cover, you could start at any point and choose your own path within it. It wasn’t linear, and that is actually how a lot of people learn. It’s not always a progression from A to B. Definitely. I also cook a lot. That’s where my mind feels challenged these days– can I make this thing? What if I do something different? If you’re taught how to be creative, it will inform the way that you do everything. What are your aspirations? My dream before I graduated was to work on artist books. And then I did. I got my first project with the artist Sarah Crowner and we made Stripes together. She’s amazing, a very generous and kind person, and does beautiful work. From there I started freelancing (something I thought I’d never do!) and I got to work with the folks at Printed Matter, this legend of a yoga teacher and person Eddie Stern, and this brand Oddobody, one of the best teams I’ve ever worked with. Eventually I made my way back to Kasmin, and my goals now are to grow our recently established imprint, Kasmin Books, and the brand as a whole. My colleague, manager, and friend Molly Taylor asked me this question a while back that I have thought about and re-asked often: What’s your 180? In other words, you’re doing something now, what is something completely different that you could also see yourself doing? Right now I think that would be something to do with food — maybe go to culinary school? Molly is a little older than me, but our lives have a lot of parallels, and it makes her an incredible mentor and really generous colleague. I hope I can do that for someone else one day. What advice would you give to young artists? Be brave. Someone mentioned during SUMMER SCHOOL that you just have to go do it. No one is going to do it for you. It’s cliché, but that really stuck with me. Having a lot of different jobs is also really important. Work in service. Don't let it be beneath you. Learn how to work with other people. No one gets there on their own…I am here at Kasmin in large part because I went to school with someone who introduced me to my boss. Find a network and use it—especially to hook up your friends! Being able to articulate a dream or a goal is also really useful. It's worth so much because it gives you a benchmark to push up against. It feels really good to say, "I did that thing. I can do another thing now." You're proving it to other people, but you’re proving it to yourself too. What do you enjoy most about working in a gallery environment? Working in a gallery, you’re always working with art and artists. Sometimes it’s big names like Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, Matisse, Warhol…but also a lot of my colleagues are artists, as well as musicians, writers, historians, and curators. It’s exciting to be immersed in that all day. Kasmin is a really special place. The Tina Barney and Jane Freilicher shows at Kasmin are two of my favorite exhibitions from this year. Freilicher’s work utilized the space so well, and it was really exciting to see Barney’s early work at that scale. The vanessa german show last year was also amazing. She is such a force. Those are the kinds of works, as an artist, that make this job feel spectacular. What's on your bookshelf? Dorothy Iannone: A Cookbook East of Eden by John Steinbeck Candy House by Jennifer Egan The Secret History by Donna Tartt 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez Reader’s Digest: The Complete Guide to Needlework Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Design as Art and Roses in the Salad by Bruno Munari The Politics of Design by Ruben Pater Dimensions of Citizenship Females by Andrea Long Chu A Book of Things by Jasper Morrison Funny Weather by Olivia Laing Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay Joon Magazine ... some things I've worked on, including Sarah Crowner: Stripes , Alma Allen: Nunca Solo , Jane Freilicher: Abstractions , Caldera Magazine, plus my boyfriend Logan’s sick collection of Ray Gun magazines, and some very cut up National Geographics . Interview and photography by Kerry Santullo for Children's Museum of the Arts NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

6/26/24 Artists in Schools Emergency Art Kits! Click to expand media gallery. When CMA Artist in Residence Noormah Jamal began her teaching residency at Children’s Workshop School in the East Village, she noticed something — although her students excelled in art class, they lacked access to art materials outside of school to continue their practice. Thus the idea for Emergency Art Kits was born. Inspired by communal food pantries that popped up during the pandemic, these art kits contain all of the materials necessary to continue making art outside of the classroom — air dry clay, sketchbooks, graphite, oil pastels, and paintbrushes, just to name a few. Entirely free of charge to students. Thanks to the generous support of Cowles Charitable Trust and Blick Art Materials , we are able to provide art kits to students in ALL of our residency partner schools, including Hudson Guild and P396K Sid Miller Academy . P396K even hosted a special distribution event, where students filled their own bags with art materials of their choice. Three cheers to Noormah for the brilliant initiative and here’s to artmaking all summer long! NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 1/18/24 Artists in Schools Viewing Ruth Asawa at the Whitney Museum CMA Resident Artist Maria D. Rapicavoli visited the Whitney Museum with her after school students from Hudson Guild. NEXT IN

Open Studio: Negative Space Free Community Artmaking Monday, January 8, 2024 4 PM to 6 PM Pier 57 Pier 57, 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USA Media Inquiries: adam@culturalcounsel.com RSVP Coles Phillps, cover art for Life Magazine, January 27, 1910 © Yau Hoong Tang via Colossal Magazine Our eyes are trained to see things right in front of us. But what if we look in between those objects and patterns? Artists such as Coles Phillips and Yau Hoong Tang use the idea of negative space differently – one omits and one adds. After looking at the work of these artists, children will create their own representations of the “in between” of negative space. About Open Studio Open Studio at Pier 57 invites children to explore hands-on projects across a wide range of artistic disciplines. Each session introduces children to the elements and principles of art while surveying artists across generations. Specially designed for children on the Autism Spectrum but welcoming to all, each session is multisensory focused. Participants will explore art materials (such as clay, paper, or textiles) at their own pace alongside movement breaks and ample time for storytelling and social interaction. Open Studio is recommended for ages 12 & under. What To Expect This activity takes place in the Community Classrooms at Pier 57, located just beyond the food hall. The program’s curriculum is rooted in accessible artmaking practices and Children’s Museum of the Arts’ pedagogy of Look, Make, Share. Take a peek at one of our virtual Inclusives lessons, catered to children with Autism, that families can try at home: here ! Please be advised this is not a dropoff session. While caregivers are welcome to stay with their children, families are encouraged to enjoy the extraordinary setting of Pier 57 in the adjacent Family Living Room for the duration of the session. Caregivers are advised to remain on the premises while children are working. Image Credit: Coles Phillps, cover art for Life Magazine, January 27, 1910 Children's Museum of the Arts' Open Studio at Pier 57 is generously supported by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, William Talbott Hillman Foundation, The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Google Community Grants Fund,, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harriet Ames Charitable Trust, The Cowles Charitable Trust,, and the Viniar Family Foundation. Donate Now

Family Photo Collages Inspired by Tina Barney Gallery Visit Thursday, April 20, 2023 10 AM to 11:30 AM Kasmin Gallery Kasmin Gallery, 10th Avenue, New York, NY, USA Media Inquiries: adam@culturalcounsel.com RSVP First graders from PS 33M Chelsea Prep joined our Artists in Residence for a behind-the-scenes tour of Tina Barney ’s exhibition The Beginning at Kasmin Gallery. Taking a cue from Barney’s intimate photographs of familial traditions and domestic rituals, students collaged their own family photographs with art magazines, construction paper, and felt to create artworks that showed family memories in a whole new light. About the Exhibition Spanning the years 1976 to 1980, The Beginning brings together the earliest works of acclaimed American photographer Tina Barney (b. 1945). Featuring images largely unseen by the public, the exhibition chronicles a period of technical and artistic development that would lay the foundation for the complex and incisive tableaux that ultimately established Barney as a key figure in international photography. While quarantining during the Covid-19 outbreak, Barney began to sort through her archive of thousands of 35mm negatives, discovering long-forgotten images that reanimated her memories of life as a young artist: “The photographs in this book seem like X-rays of my mind,” she has said. Programs at Children's Museum of the Arts are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Donate Now

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 11/23/21 Interviews Interviews Meet Artist in Residence Ciana Malchione “Everyone deserves the space and materials to be creative." More of Ciana's Work While the museum is closed to the public, CMA’s inaugural cohort of Artist-Educators in Residence are turning the museum into their individual art studios as they develop The Look Make Show, the first digital commons of child-centered on-demand arts education. Below, meet Ciana Malchione, whose paper-cut collages and whimsical art-making videos delight viewers from around the globe. CMA: What attracted you to CMA’s new Artist-Educator in Residence program? CM: I felt that this residency was made for me. My primary creative interests are children’s book illustration and arts education, and this residency was perfectly aligned with both. I felt that making complex topics digestible for a child audience on The Look Make Show would directly benefit my work as a children’s illustrator, and I was excited to further my experience as an educator. I also felt that CMA shared my view of children and their work — that children are artists, that their work and ideas are truly valuable (not in a condescending “isn’t-that-cute” way), and that they deserve a strong arts education. The residency has exceeded all of my expectations. CMA: Can you tell us about your art practice and how working with children inspires you? CM: My art practice is very connected to children. I want to illustrate children’s books, so most of my work is geared toward a child audience. I’m also currently working in the former stART Studio at the museum, a space where young children made messy art. There’s paint splattered everywhere and children’s artwork all over the walls. Most of them are colorful assemblages made with found materials (pine cones, building blocks, sea shells, etc.), which is super aligned with my own work as a collage illustrator. Whenever my eye wanders, I find myself staring at a piece made by children. Working in this context has made me more playful and curious. CMA: Do you have a favorite memory of making art as a child? CM: I remember sitting on our living room floor at about 5 or 6 and drawing pen portraits of my parents. My step-dad’s was hilariously inaccurate, with hair that looked glued on. It made us all crack up laughing. Then I drew my mom. And there she was. She was so present in that drawing that it took us both by surprise. I still have it somewhere. It’s on a piece of green scrap paper. CMA: What advice would you give to young artists who wish to pursue an art practice? CM: Follow your interests. If you like whittling, do more of that. If you like painting, do more of that. Don’t force anything. Just follow your genuine interests and keep making things. That’s all it takes to have an art practice. CMA: Why is it important to make art accessible to all children and families? CMA: Art and art-making don’t belong to the elite, or to any particular demographic. It’s a fundamental part of all human life, and everyone deserves the space and materials to be creative. I think we also need to expand our understanding of art to include all modes of creative tinkering. CMA posits that all children are artists, and I agree with that. CMA: If you could choose any artist to create a portrait of yourself, who would it be and why? CM: Alice Neel is my favorite portrait artist. I think her paintings are charming and funny, but also honest. They’re rarely flattering, and have a way of accessing something vulnerable and goofy in the sitter. I’d be curious to see what she found in me. “Everyone deserves the space and materials to be creative." NEXT IN Interviews Meet Artist in Residence Tati Nguyen Meet Artist in Residence Tati Nguyen

12/22/23 Artists in Schools Noormah's Reflections: December CMA Resident Artist Noormah Jamal on her December projects at Children's Workshop School. Click to expand media gallery. This month, students embarked on their final 2D design lessons. We focused on building narratives and took inspiration from artists including Kara Walker , Hannah Hoch , Rashid Rana , Studio Ghibli , Damien Hirst , and Yayoi Kusama . I was impressed with their narrative drawings using silhouettes, reminiscent of the works of Kara Walker. They also made their first collage artworks as well, and dove into pattern-making by following a grid layout. After creating holiday cards, we wrapped things up for the year with movie poster design! There are some assignments where I wish there was another version of me. I wish I could spend more time helping brainstorm with each child individually. Still, my students surprise me each week. There has never been an assignment where I haven't been impressed by their skill set or imagination. I'm also trying to balance the class as a whole. I have a few students that tend to rush through their assignments. while others like to take their time (and could actually use more time!) I always give the students who finish early extra sheets for free drawing, but am hoping that eventually they invest a little more time in their works. A student of mine took me to his locker to show me a portrait drawing that he made of his uncle. The student speaks little English and we often communicate through a device because of the language barrier. I try to form relationships built on trust with all my students, but because I am dependent on a device to communicate with some of them, I worry that they feel that I am not approachable enough. I was incredibly moved when he shared his work with me. Noormah’s work at Children’s Workshop School is supported by the Emergency Arts Education Fund , which provides free arts education to NYC school communities whose art programs have been decimated by recent budget cuts. Children’s Museum of the Arts’ three Residents Artists are currently implementing ambitious arts curriculum at each of our partner sites throughout New York City: Hudson Guild in Chelsea, Sid Miller Academy in Crown Heights, and Children’s Workshop School in the East Village. Come spring, our residents will showcase their students' work through exhibitions and installations across the city. Learn how you can support the work of our residents here . NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

Open Studio: Power of Hair Free Community Artmaking Monday, April 29, 2024 3 PM to 5 PM Pier 57 Pier 57, 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USA Media Inquiries: adam@culturalcounsel.com RSVP Lorna Simpson, For Rose, 2013. From Lorna Simpson Collages, Chronicle Books 2018. Lorna Simpson, Earth & Sky #24 (2016), collage on paper, 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Photo by James Wang, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth © Lorna Simpson. Hair is an integral part of our identity. In her collages and paintings, artist Lorna Simpson constructs her own signs of empowerment through the visual language of Black hair. Taking a cue from Simpson’s artwork, students will reimagine their own hair through collage and paint, adding new definition and dimension to their styles. About Open Studio Open Studio at Pier 57 invites children to explore hands-on projects across a wide range of artistic disciplines. Each session introduces children to the elements and principles of art while surveying artists across generations and continents. Specially designed for children on the Autism Spectrum but welcoming to all, each session is multisensory focused. Participants will explore art materials (such as clay, paper, or textiles) at their own pace alongside movement breaks and ample time for storytelling and social interaction. Open Studio is recommended for ages 12 & under. What To Expect This activity takes place in the Community Classrooms at Pier 57, located just beyond the food hall. The program’s curriculum is rooted in accessible artmaking practices and Children’s Museum of the Arts’ pedagogy of Look, Make, Share. Take a peek at one of our virtual Inclusives lessons, catered to children with Autism, that families can try at home: here ! Please be advised this is not a dropoff session. While caregivers are welcome to stay with their children, families are encouraged to enjoy the extraordinary setting of Pier 57 in the adjacent Family Living Room for the duration of the session. Caregivers are advised to remain on the premises while children are working. Image Credit: Lorna Simpson, For Rose , 2013. From Lorna Simpson Collages , Chronicle Books 2018. Children's Museum of the Arts' Open Studio at Pier 57 is generously supported by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, William Talbott Hillman Foundation, The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Google Community Grants Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harriet Ames Charitable Trust, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and the Viniar Family Foundation. Additional support is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Donate Now