See More Children's Museum of the Arts 1/27/24 Kids Art Celebrate Valentine’s Day with 9 Works from CMA’s Collection of Children’s Art Featuring Artworks from Sweden, India, and Russia NEXT IN

Open Studio: NYC Neighbors Free Community Artmaking Monday, May 13, 2024 3 PM to 5 PM Pier 57 Pier 57, 11th Avenue, New York, NY, USA Media Inquiries: adam@culturalcounsel.com RSVP Image Credit: Hey Neighbor NYC, created by Kisha Bari and Jasmin Chang and supported in part by the Assembling Voices fellowship at INCITE at Columbia University. Newkirk Plaza, Flatbush, Brooklyn. New York City’s rich cultural heritage is reflected in its residents, whose diverse ethnicities, languages, and cultural traditions make our city the very best it can be. Children will look at Kisha Bari and Jasmin Chang ’s Hey Neighbor NYC installation in Flatbush, which showcases photographs and stories of community organizers and advocates from across the boroughs. Next, they’ll create a portrait of a community leader that they respect and admire. 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: Hey Neighbor NYC , created by Kisha Bari and Jasmin Chang and supported in part by the Assembling Voices fellowship at INCITE at Columbia University. Newkirk Plaza, Flatbush, Brooklyn. 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

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 6/30/23 Reflections No School? No Problem NEXT IN

11/24/21 Interviews Meet Artist in Residence Frank Traynor “With so many kids, there’s a lot of seeing things as they really are and also a lot of space for imagining what things can become." Click to expand media gallery. CMA’s inaugural cohort of Artists 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 Frank Traynor , puppet artist and founder of No School , an artist-run arts education program focusing on adventurous, process-oriented group art making. What attracted you to CMA’s new Artist in Residence program? I have been working between art and art education for a while, and had been interested in the CMA for sometime, hoping for a way to get involved. I had just ended a big education project in Berkeley, CA and was just kind of floating around out in Hawaii when the residency was announced. It seemed like it could be a good reason to come back to NYC. Can you tell us about your art practice and how working with children inspires you? I like the way that handicrafts can really affect our daily lives in tiny and humongous ways — it helps us connect with each other and ourselves, as individuals and groups — and give us ways to experience a place or a season, share ideas outside of words, to invest in and honor upcoming events, or reflect and commemorate past events. I think a lot of kids are open to this kind of experiencing the world / their days. To make a generalization — with so many kids, there’s a lot of seeing things as they really are and also a lot of space for imagining what things can become. Do you have a favorite memory of making art as a child? My grandfather used to keep a workbench in his side yard. If he was working out there he would get me a bucket of water and a big paintbrush and I would make giant paintings on the side of his house. The water would make the pale green walls a few shades darker that wouldn’t last very long in the Miami heat. The beginning of some big image would evaporate before you got to the end. I was happy to keep going for a long time — a whole world just coming and going, trying to figure it out. What advice would you give to young artists who wish to pursue an art practice? I don’t feel particularly interested in working towards creating a new generation of individual artists as they are understood in a professional sense. In my dream, I hope to encourage a perspective beyond an art practice, to foster empowered curiosity and creativity in young people — the feeling of real ability to change your life and the world around you by making things (especially outside of capitalist logic). If you could choose any artist to create a portrait of yourself, who would it be and why? Wight Rushton, from the Rushton Doll Company . Their hobo dolls are amazing. I want to feel the way they look. NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

10/5/23 Interviews "For me, everything is collage." Artist Ophelia Arc on the innate desire to create. Click to expand media gallery. Great artists make artists. And to prove that point, over 70 of today's greatest have contributed their work in support of Children's Museum of the Arts' Emergency Arts Education Fund , establishing utterly ambitious art programs in New York City schools that need them most. Bidding for the online auction concludes Thursday, October 19 at 12 PM EDT . Bid now. Bid often. Bid here. Below, meet auction artist Ophelia Arc . Ophelia with her third grade art teacher Do you have a favorite memory of making art as a child? As a child I loved making collages. These moments of connecting different parts of photographs and magazines together felt like my own form of world building and creating some semblance of sense in my life. Today I see my art practice deriving from this same place but now transformed into a textile form. For me, everything is collage. What advice would you give to young artists who wish to pursue an art practice? Create, just make and make and make. I feel we all have this innate desire to create. It flows so effortlessly at first and as we grow older we begin to become self conscious of this urge. I’d tell young artists to not listen to that critic that makes its home within us. When did you first know you were going to be an artist? I didn’t get into art until I started my freshman year at college. I didn’t think it was an option, but then I realized I can do whatever I want. Having moved away at 17 and being removed from my family, I realized there was no one that had any say in my choices, no one to tell me to stop, so I didn’t – I just kept taking my work further. Ophelia Arc Mother shaped space, child shaped wound thread and silicone on frame Bid Now NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

11/28/23 Interviews "Find the joy in it and be ready for the parts that some days are not just fun." Artist Jennefer Hoffman on growing up in Canada and being a self-taught sculptor. Click to expand media gallery. CMA's end-of-year artwork sale raises essential funds for free arts education in NYC schools whose arts programs have been decimated by recent budget cuts. These works – starting at $100 – have been generously donated by celebrated artists who uphold our belief that all children are artists deserving of the materials, access, and encouragement to allow their creativity to soar. Below, meet contributing artist Jennefer Hoffman. Jennefer as a young artist Artwork by Jennefer’s daughter Apollonia, age 13 Artwork by Jennefer’s son Dean, age 3, on the occasion of his sister’s birth Do you have a favorite memory of making art as a child? I grew up in Canada and I remember loving getting a new huge drawing pad. They were called “BIG” and I remember drawing Snoopy and Garfield and other cartoon characters with friends using magic markers that smelled like black licorice and lemons What advice would you give to young artists who wish to pursue an art practice? There is no “right” way. I am a self-taught sculptor so there are many ways to learn and make, however it is a job like any other. I learned that late. Find the joy in it and be ready for the parts that some days are not just fun. How does working with children inspire you? Children for the most part, if uninfluenced, say it like it is and draw it like it is. I find children get the “artist” part and we often teach the technical part that can sometimes squash the “artist” part away. When did you first know you were going to be an artist? I don't think I ever knew. In fact, I still question it all the time. Can you describe a formative experience visiting a museum or gallery? Getting into school in NYC in 1993 and seeing an Anselm Kiefer show in Soho and an Agnes Martin show, never having heard of either of them, and feeling I wanted to do what they do. Jennefer Hoffman growing light stoneware and brown stoneware with slip Buy Now 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 10/5/23 Interviews "Anything can be used to make art and everything can be art." Artist Anna Navasardian on exploring every medium and her first time viewing ancient Egyptian art. NEXT IN

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 10/5/23 Interviews "Children's creativity is raw and untethered in a way that no adult artist is quite capable of." Artist Alexander Deschamps on drawing superheros and the afterschool art program that charted his path as a artist. NEXT IN

12/19/23 Artists in Schools Monochromatic Self Portraits Dispatches from CMA Resident Artist Maria D. Rapicavoli's after school class at Hudson Guild. Click to expand media gallery. Fourth graders at Hudson Guild are taking a deep dive into color theory under the tutelage of CMA Artist in Residence Maria D. Rapicavoli. Following a discussion of Picasso ’s Blue Period paintings, students were encouraged to transfer any negative emotions into a monochromatic self-portrait, yielding beautiful and emotive works. In Maria's words, “Two students walked into my class crying and annoyed. Neither wanted to work. I introduced Picasso and described that he often used the color blue to express his emotions. I then invited them to think of moments when they were sad and to release their sadness by transferring it to a monochromatic self portrait. Art can help us express our feelings, and because sadness is such a strong emotion, it can generate strong paintings. It brought me joy to see that both students were inspired by the lesson and made beautiful self portraits. At the end of the class, both left happy.” Maria's work at Hudson Guild 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

9/6/23 Residency In Preparation for Urgent Futures Miguel Braceli stages kids' urgent questions of our time. Click to expand media gallery. As part of his CMA residency, Miguel Brraceli debuts Urgent Futures , a participatory project to collect, discuss, and stage children’s critical questions from our time. Over the course of the spring semester, Miguel worked with third graders at Children’s Workshop School in the East Village to generate questions based on current issues, encouraging kids to be acutely curious about the world surrounding them. The project kicked off in the classroom, where students used archival copies of The New York Times , donated by the Queens Public Library, to create their own newspaper version of Lygia Pape ’s Divisor (Divider) performance piece as a means of literally embodying their current questions. Lygia Pape (Brazilian, 1927–2004). Divisor (Divider), 1968. Performance at Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, 1990. Photo by Paula Pape. © Projeto Lygia Pape The students also had the opportunity to explore art and form their own questions in an exhibition context at Pace Gallery. Students took a field trip to the gallery's Chelsea location, where they viewed the work of Matthew Day Jackson . Students formed six groups to formulate questions based on the prompts: what, when, who, how, where, why, como, que. Afterwards, kids drew their questions on large inflatable letters and carried the balloons (via subway!) back to CWS. Divided into three parts, the activation of September 21 documents the creation of a massive flag made of letters asking third grader Damiya Gardener 's question: Does it affect the Earth? Urgent Futures invites visitors to bear witness to the next generation’s dire questions about the future of Earth, from environmental, social, and political perspectives. NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now