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Interactive Exhibit Opening January 18, 2020 Features Works from Ten Contemporary Artists that Connect Kids with Space and Design in Exciting New Ways

NEW YORK – December 10, 2019 – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) today announced the opening of “Inside Art,” a new immersive and hands-on exhibition that encourages visitors to connect with art, space and design like never before as they assemble, create, peek into, crawl under and walk through new large scale installations and sculptures. Designed for children ages 3-10, the exhibition at CMOM (212 West 83^rd Street) opens January 18, 2020.

The 3,000-square-foot exhibit, located in CMOM’s first-floor gallery, features works from ten critically acclaimed contemporary artists, whose work explores ideas around architecture, natural phenomenon, collaboration and culture. Among the featured artworks are giant clusters of colorful cylinders that encourage peeks into mirrored tunnels of light, rainbows and reflections by artist duo Yeju & Chat; a massive tabletop mystery puzzle that challenges kids to decode icons, shapes and patterns by artist Damien Davis; and a sculpture that invites children to move like a groundhog as they dwell in one of two burrows built to human scale by artist Julie Ann Nagle.

“Inside Art” featured interactive also include:

• A cylindrical sculpture by Adrienne Elise Tarver that encourages pint-sized visitors to crawl under and peek through a panorama of three-dimensional leaves
• A hanging imaginary beehive by Borinquen Gallo that asks kids to think about how they can better care for our environment
• A new mural by Carlos Jesus Martinez Dominguez that draws upon techniques in graffiti art and painting while incorporating elements of his identity as a Dominican-Puerto Rican, a New Yorker, a dad, an artist and an educator
• An enormous fallen tree stump made of fabric by Tamara Kostianovsky invites children to crawl beneath it and explore its textures, surfaces and its scale
• Joiri Minaya’s installation encourages children to break through, stretch through and jump through holes in her spandex wall of tropical patterns that challenge preconceived ideas of the Caribbean
• Leah Tinari’s over 30 illustrative portraits will inspire visitors to remember the impact made by extraordinary U.S. women of the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th

In addition to engaging directly with the new artwork, visitors to “Inside Art” will also meet the museum’s resident artists who will have studios located in the gallery. Kids also can create their own sculptures and installations in the Maker Space and family art studios with CMOM’s lead visual arts educators, and connect to place and their communities through pop-up performances in dance, theater and music performed in the gallery.

“We believe that all children deserve sophisticated, beautiful and complex art and we have a responsibility to offer multiple entry points,” said David Rios, Children’s Museum of Manhattan’s Director of Public Programs and the exhibit’s curator. “This means having access to quality works of art, access to real people working in the field such as artists and arts educators, and the opportunity for family engagement through making art.”

“Inside Art” is funded by the Ford Foundation.

For more information about “Inside Art,” and CMOM, please visit www.cmom.org.

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About Children’s Museum of Manhattan

As one of New York’s leading family destinations and a vital city resource, CMOM is visited annually by 350,000 people with some 50,000 people enjoying free or reduced admission. Many more participate in outreach programs in 60 sites across NYC’s five boroughs, take part in professional development training programs, and enjoy the Museum’s traveling exhibitions and online resources.