Program areas at MoAF
Collection and exhibition programsin 2022, the Museum showcased objects from its collections at off-site locations and embarked on a major initiative to digitize its extensive archives. In march 2022, "rise ny" officially opened to the public in times square. In addition to a virtual reality type ride through the city, the attraction includes several small galleries that represent defining aspects of new york, such as fashion, theater and Finance. As consultants on the Finance gallery, the Museum provided curatorial guidance, as well as access to its collections. The Museum's plaster statue of alexander hamilton commissioned by his son as a gift to the city of new york, as well as a check signed by hamilton, are among the objects on view and are featured alongside the bull & bear statue that had been on display in the Museum's former home. The audio tour of the "rise ny" Finance gallery is narrated by moaf president david cowen.in september, the Museum displayed highlights from its collection to attendees of the salt conference in new york city. Days later, the collection was shipped from archival storage facilities in new york and Delaware to the heritage werks facility in Georgia to be processed and digitized. This wide-ranging, multi-year initiative will enable the Museum to preserve its vast collection and share it with audiences globally. The collection is currently being processed, evaluated and prioritized for high resolution scanning and meta-tagging. Once the documents have been scanned, they will also be more accessible for physical exhibitions, including traveling and pop-up exhibitions and displays.
Community outreach and educationfinancial education is at the heart of the Museum's mission, and more than 108,000 students have participated in its education programs since 2009. A highlight of the Museum's educational initiatives is the Museum Finance academy (mfa), a unique personal Finance certificate course offered free of charge to high school juniors and seniors. The program, which is currently presented in an online format, provides a foundation in personal Finance along with the ability to earn partial college scholarships. In spring 2022, the Museum expanded the mfa to a national audience, thanks to funding by ing and the assistance of the smithsonian affiliates network. In fall 2022, the local section of mfa resumed for tri-state area students, thanks to sponsorship by con edison.the Museum also offers a robust series of more than 30 public events per year. Among the distinguished participants are nobel laureates and industry leaders, as well as award-winning authors. Much of the Museum's programming shifted to a virtual format in march 2020, leading to an expanded number of events and a four-fold increase in attendance. In 2022, featured speakers included mary childs, terrence keeley, roger lowenstein, gillian tett, james park, bob pisani and bruce usher, among many others. Panel discussions in 2022 included "nfts: welcome to the metaverse and "going green: exploring the relationship of sustainability and Finance," which was held as an in-person event during nyc climate week. Many of the Museum's programs are presented in partnership with the fordham university gabelli center for global security analysis. In 2022, the Museum also partnered with the new york public library's thomas yoseloff business center on a free nine-part financial education series for adults, titled "investing a to z," as well as a free eight-part series on retirement planning, titled "retirement a to z."