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ARTIST ALEXANDRIA SMITH AND MUSEUM VISITORS TO CREATE “COLLAGE COLLABORATIONS” AT THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MANHATTAN

New York, NY— August 26, 2017— Young children and their adults will enjoy a hands-on opportunity to learn about the art of collage under the direction of artist Alexandria Smith beginning Saturday, September 2 at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. “Collage Collaborations,” is an exhibition and family program series that introduces children and families to artists who use collage as an art form. It is funded by a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works grant.

Inspired and influenced by Romare Bearden, Wangechi Mutu, Ellen Gallagher and Philip Guston Smith creates monumental collage installations that feature her own visual language and symbols. At the Museum, she will conduct interactive workshops for children under five, and their families, that showcase her work and artistic process. Workshops participants will work with the artist to create a collaborative artwork that will be on display at the Museum for eight weeks.

Smith’s work has been showcased at the Schomburg Center, Scaramouche Gallery and Thierry Goldberg Gallery. She received her formal arts training at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Parsons The New School for Design, NYU and Syracuse University where she studied with Coco Fusco, Mira Schor, Dipti Desai and Leslie Hewitt.

Smith is the second distinguished artist to lead a series of weekend workshops as part of “Collage Collaborations.” Each workshop explores the artist’s creative process, the practice of collage, and collage’s impact on early childhood development through collaborative art-making. Artist Naomi Reis kicked off the series in April. In December, visitors will have the opportunity to work with Tai Hwa Goh.

Children work with each artist on a large-scale collaborative artwork. At the end of the series and under the direction of David Rios, the Museum’s Director of Public Programs, Museum arts educators continue collaborating with families to complete the artworks. Each piece is then displayed at the Museum alongside existing works by each artist.

“Collage Collaborations” began in April 2017 and continues through January 2018. For more information on this and other projects supported by NEA Art Works Grants, visit arts.gov/news. For information on the Children’s Museum, visit www.cmom.org.

About the Children’s Museum of Manhattan

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) does what is good for children. By creating experiences at the intersection of the arts, sciences and the humanities, CMOM helps children and families thrive at home, at school, and in the community. Based on research, evaluation, and testing, our programs and exhibits are designed to address the multiple ways children learn and to help parents understand and support their children’s development. The Museum’s special areas of focus—selected for their ability to benefit children throughout their lives—include early childhood education, creativity, health and world cultures.

Founded in 1973 as a grassroots, neighborhood organization to help bring the arts to New York City public schools, the Children’s Museum is committed to serving a diverse audience. As a citywide resource and a destination for visitors from around the world, each year more than 350,000 people visit our 38,000 square-foot learning facility on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Thousands more benefit from our outreach programs at schools, libraries, homeless shelters, Head Start Centers and hospitals. www.cmom.org