Friends of Materials for the Arts

Education center, artist-in-residence, gallery program, and third thursday program the mfta education center which hosts our field trip program, artist-in-residence, designer-in-residence, the mfta gallery and free public third thursday workshops, expose the work of many artists to the participants within the mfta education center and provide a remarkable benefit to over 4,200 active member groups as well as the general public. These programs are integral to the mission of supporting reuse Arts education and promoting creative reuse as a viable practice for artists and Arts organizations. Schools across the five boroughs participate in our in person field trip program that happens daily within our warehouse. Teachers and students learn about creative reuse from our staff of teaching artists while making their own art that they make take home. Artists implementing creative reuse in their work are eligible for our residency program where they have the opportunity to create a gallery show using Materials from our warehouse. Each year, our artist in residence program offers 3 artists, studio space and access to our 35,000 square feet of Materials to create artwork which is then exhibited in our gallery. An exciting component to Materials for the Arts is our entryway, which holds our gallery and opens into the warehouse. the art in our gallery space allows our students and visitors to envision how the Materials come together, in the true spirit of "creative reuse" which are thought-provoking and innovative works of art. Workshops with our artist-in-residence and designer-in residence programs help to create programming touchpoints for schools in our network allowing us to help teachers take full advantage of mfta's multifaceted resources. This includes encouraging schools to shop in the warehouse, participate in professional development opportunities, field trips, in-school residencies, as well as take part in our in-school and in-house workshops. Our collaborative approach is catalyzed through our artists who act as ambassadors promoting environmental sustainability and empowering youth. An integral part of Friends of material for the Arts' mission is to support and strengthen the work of emerging artists, nonprofit Arts organizations and the cultural community of new york city. Mfta engages with the general public through our third thursday events. These events are held both virtually and in person, hosted by our gallery director. Our curatorial vision follows a singular idea that "access is an aesthetic," this is the through-line of all our programming. Our audience is continuously expanding, and the work of the artists we feature in the gallery needs to be able to resonate with broad audiences, including those who may not have access to the Arts otherwise. Additionally, we value artists who incorporate opportunities for hands-on learning during their residency. We strive to inform educators and students about the value of reuse through the creation of hands-on projects in classroom practice.