6/25/24 Gallery Visits Family Day at Marian Goodman Gallery CMA Artist in Residence Maria D. Rapicavoli led a multi-step art activity inspired by Giuseppe Penone's "Hands - Earth - Light - Colors" exhibition. Click to expand media gallery. We are deeply grateful to the staff and artists of Marian Goodman Gallery for welcoming our families for an exclusive tour and artmaking activity inspired by their recent exhibition Giuseppe Penone: Hands - Earth - Light - Colors . Led by CMA Artist in Residence (and native Italian!) Maria D. Rapicavoli , children took a cue from Penone's large-scale paintings as they experimented with different ways to use their hands as tools. When looking at Penone's works, children noticed horses, volcanos, and even faces smushed against glass. First, students used ink pads and paper to explore how the unique imprints of their skin can create all sorts of shapes and figures. Next, they delved into 2D and 3D representation as they smushed clay between their hands and fingers, drawing connections between their own clay and Penone's Avvolgere la terra - il colore nelle mani (To Enfold the Earth – the colour of the hands) sculptures. Finally, they added natural and man-made materials such as shells, glass marbles, and plastic tiles to their clay sculptures, taking time to notice how the shapes, textures, and even temperatures added dimensions to their works. Of course, children loved sharing their works with the group at the end of the session — one student introduced his sculpture named Hollow , which was situated entirely on a sea shell. NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

3/19/24 Artists in Schools Supporting Each Other Through Art Dispatches from CMA Resident Artist Maria D. Rapicavoli's after school class at Hudson Guild. Click to expand media gallery. What would you like to bring into your life? Students played a reverse game of the one they played last month – this time, they were invited to consider what they wish to bring to their lives. It could be something tangible, a feeling, or even a person — something they really wish they had in their lives but can’t have at the moment. They anonymously wrote down their wishes on paper, folded it, and placed it in a basket. Next, students randomly selected a paper from the basket and created an artwork based on its content. If they picked their own paper, they could be free to change or keep it. The aim of the game was to understand that sometimes we need others to help us bring something important into our lives because we cannot do it by ourselves. Art can serve as a powerful tool for representing wishes and desires that otherwise are hard to express! One student wrote that they wanted a new house, and Elian, who made the artwork based on that post, drew a house and titled it “a new home of kindness.” Another student drew a beautiful image of a mother hugging her child. Two students expressed their desire to own a VR face mask, while another student wanted “freedom and a baby horse.” Several students wanted to build a new house, and a few even collaborated to create a furnished house made of cardboard. 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

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 7/12/23 Exhibitions sampling: Collaborative Hip-Hop Mural NEXT IN

1/9/24 Interviews Meet CMA Artist in Residence Niousha Kiarashi The Iranian artist and educator on sneaking into her mother's closet to create costumes and the role of fundamentals in arts education. Click to expand media gallery. Across the boroughs, CMA's three Artists in Residence 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. Below, meet Iranian multidisciplinary artist and educator Niousha Kiarashi , who works with elementary age students at Sid Miller Academy , one of the leading District 75 school providing specialized support for children with disabilities. Niousha as a young artist Can you describe a fruitful childhood experience that influenced your practice? I used to sneak in my mother's closet and make costumes out of everything I could find and perform in an imaginary world full of imaginary characters. Still to this day I'm making costumes and trying to create environments to perform within. Why is it important to make art accessible to all children and families? Childhood is the most crucial time of our life and makes the most important impacts on us creating our future characters. Creating art and it being accessible for everyone makes everybody able to get more closer to their perceptions of their surroundings and to make a better self. Expressing their characters through art and visualizing them in order to solve more of this complex puzzle of existence. Up Close, fine liner on paper and photograph, 12 x 16 cm, 2019 In your words, what does it mean to be an artist? To observe everything more carefully and try to connect with deeper aspects of the nature of things to be able to define them in a simple way. Why is children’s artwork important within the context of art history? The unconscious understanding of the fundamentals of art that every child has allows them to produce works that could be both the origin and initial steps for becoming a greater artist and change the history of the art. Far Off, marker, fine liner, and color pencil on paper, 10 x 15 cm, 2019 About Niousha Kiarashi 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. She is passionate about creating alternative and sustainable ways of understanding our surroundings and working with diverse communities to put these experiences into practice. Support Niousha's work at Sid Miller Academy by donating to CMA's Emergency Arts Education Fund , which provides free arts education to NYC schools that need it most. NEXT Emergency Exhibition: New Training for Future Artists and Art Lovers Take a Virtual Tour on Bloomberg Connects Donate Now

3/22/24 Artists in Schools Visiting Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts CMA Resident Artist Maria D. Rapicavoli visited Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts with her after school students from Hudson Guild. Click to expand media gallery. Students headed uptown to one of New York's most respected artist organizations, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts ! Luckily for them, Maria is very familiar with the space, as she has her own studio there as part of the EFA Studio Program. First up, students met with EFA Studios Director Alexandra Unthank for a look at the current exhibition Running Joke , which showcases the work of nine artists using humor, play, and symbolism in their work. The students loved interacting with the installations, such as a duo of fake chickens that came to life with the press of a button, and stuffed pillows resembling cats and dogs, which led to a discussion on the subjectivity of humor. We even got to make a few chicken jokes for good luck! Next, students headed down the hall to visit Maria's studio. Maria shared the tools that she uses to create her sculptures, and even showed them how she carves a map into her wall using a dremel! They loved hearing about the turtles that lived near Maria' childhood home and admired her recent turtle sketches. Of course, they wanted to know the turtles' names – Lattuga (Italian for lettuce) and Fortunato (Italian for lucky). One student spotted one of his own sculptures, which Maria had taken back to her studio to repair. The best part was peering through Maria's functional hand-carved alabaster telescope. Inspired by Galileo's first telescope and commissioned by Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, A Starry Messenger presents a composite image sourced from satellite surveillance images that is visible when looking through the telescope lens. Lastly, students visited the EFA Project Space to view the exhibition Psycho-tropics: Belonging Elsewhere . They enjoyed engaging with the sound and video artworks, dancing, and listening to music. One piece in particular featured the sound of a heartbeat and evoked strong emotions in some of the students. Of course, the highlight was petting a fellow visitor's puppy! Our heartfelt thanks to everyone at EFA who worked together to provide a fantastic tour to our students! 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

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 1/31/24 Artists in Schools Noormah's Reflections: January CMA Resident Artist Noormah Jamal on her January projects at Children's Workshop School. NEXT IN

See More Children's Museum of the Arts 10/5/23 Interviews "When you're looking (or listening), notice the scale of different elements in an artwork." Artist Gryphon Rue on drawing exquisite corpses as a child, children's choirs, and a chance encounter with Richard Serra. NEXT IN

6/17/24 Alina's Animal Mask! Dispatches from CMA Resident Artist Noormah Jamal's fifth grade class at Children's Workshop School. Click to expand media gallery. Remember Alina , the standout artist from Noormah Jamal 's fifth grade class at Children's Workshop School ? She found an extra face mask in the classroom and crafted her very own animal mask! The details were exquisite — she glued sheer fabric over the eyeholes and painted them in lifelike detail. The choice of fabric allowed the wearer to see through the mask. Alina is also a master of miniature. She created a tiny doll by glueing together two pieces of felt-like fabric paper. Inside, she included a small wire amataure so the doll can move, pose, and even sit down! 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

12/22/23 Artists in Schools Drawing in the Air Dispatches from CMA Resident Artist Maria D. Rapicavoli's after school class at Hudson Guild. Click to expand media gallery. Maria’s students transitioned to their first three dimensional design lesson by learning about everyone’s favorite abstract sculptor – Alexander Calder ! Students were thrilled to “draw in the air” as they experimented with balance, equilibrium, and lightness to create a mobile sculpture that moves with the wind. They replicated organic shapes found in nature by cutting and bending metallic paper, cardboard, and metal wire and assembling a fully kinetic sculpture. 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