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National Endowment for the Arts Funds “Collage Collaborations” Exhibitions and Programming at Children’s Museum of Manhattan

New York, NY— March 27, 2017—With funding from a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works grant, young children and their adults will enjoy a hands-on opportunity to learn about the art of collage beginning Saturday, April 1 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. These distinguished artists will lead a series of weekend workshops at the Museum in April, August, and December. Workshops will explore each artist’s creative process, the practice of collage, and collage’s impact on early childhood development through collaborative art-making.

Artist Naomi Reis will kick-off the series from April 1-7. Reis will work with children on landscapes of greenery in her collage-based paintings and installations. Children will paint clear plastic sheets cut into different shapes and help Reis layer and collage these organic forms, creating a portal to a jungle landscape. The Brooklyn-based Reis was born in Shiga, Japan. She has participated in residencies at Wave Hill, the Lower East Side Printshop, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, and has shown at venues such as Mixed Greens, TSA New York, Susan Inglett, Field Projects, Kunsthalle Galapagos, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Exit Art.

Alexandria Smith, another artist, will join “Collage Collaborations” on August 26-27. A recipient of numerous awards and residencies, Smith’s recent exhibitions include a solo exhibit at Scaramouche Gallery and group exhibitions at The Schomburg Center, Thierry Goldberg Gallery and Rush Arts Gallery.

On December 2-3, visitors will have the opportunity to work with Tai Hwa Goh, who has exhibited in galleries and museums such as the International Print Center, the DUMBO Art Festival, Islip Museum, and AIR Gallery. Recent exhibitions include her site-specific installations at Wave Hill in the Bronx as part of their Sun Room Project Space and BRIC House in Brooklyn.

Children will 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 will continue collaborating with families to complete the artworks.

The final collages will be on view at the Museum alongside existing works by each artist.

“This NEA Art Works grant lets children under age five and their caregivers interact directly with working artists and supports our commitment to exhibit artworks by contemporary emerging artists,” noted Rios. “These opportunities are usually limited to older children, so we are delighted to introduce our youngest children to the artistic process.”

“Collage Collaborations” will take place between April 2017 and January 2018. For more information on this and other projects supported by NEA Art Work 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