Our Educational Community Outreach Initiatives strive to create a connection between artists working today and the next generation by cultivating critical thinking, curiosity, creative problem-solving skills, and greater self-esteem through hands-on visual arts experiences. Our fundamental goal is to engage and inspire young artists and art enthusiasts through interactive arts programming. The NARS Foundation collaborates with local schools, libraries and organizations to develop educational programs for south Brooklyn children and their families. We welcome any new program ideas, suggestions, and volunteers from the community. For further information please contact education@narsfoundation.org
The Outreach programs at NARS are made possible, in part, by the support of New York State Council on the Arts with the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, New York City Cultural Affairs, Council Member Alexa Avliés, Con Edison, and Material for the Arts.
For over 12 years, our Saturday Free Family Workshop Program has sought to provide greater accessibility to contemporary arts and to encourage stronger community engagement.
These hands-on workshops are taught by talented teaching artists from around the world. Through access to these contemporary art workshops, we seek to promote inquisitiveness, critical thinking, greater self-esteem, participation, and appreciation of contemporary art.
Cynthia Reynolds (she/her) is a Kentucky-born, New York-based sculptor and installation artist who works with discarded packaging she collects from the city streets. She is interested in how these materials can be reframed in terms of the body and architecture with reference to containment, fragility, value, and space. She holds an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle (Ceramics), a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute (Ceramics), and a BA from Centre College in Kentucky (English/Studio Art). Recent professional highlights include her residency at the Potato Farm Project on the North Fork of Long Island, her collaboration on a new ballet for Norte Maar’s CounterPointe 12, her first published review for Volume III of Peer Review, and her first social performance for Art in Odd Places 2024: CARE. Her work has been featured in exhibitions across the US, most recently at 57W57 and Elza Kayal Gallery in New York, and the Monira Foundation in Jersey City. She is the recipient of an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council and multiple grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
The NARS Free Family Workshops series is made possible through our partnership with Brooklyn Public Library, Sunset Park branch.
The workshop series is supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, City Council Member Alexa Avilés, Con Edison, and Material for the Arts.
The Animation Workshop is a series of free workshops and invites children ages 5-13 from the Sunset Park community and beyond to actively engage with the teaching artist to build a story through art and technology using critical thinking, curiosity, and creative problem-solving skills.
During each workshop session, students will be introduced to the history of animation and 2D animation techniques. This introductory workshop will encourage them to develop visual communication skills and compositional arrangement, through analog and digital technology. This workshop is structured on weekly exercises that will expand students’ cognitive skills through group, partnered, and independent activities.
This workshop series is free to attend, and all materials are provided by NARS Foundation in partnership with the Sunset Park Public Library. Children participating should be at least 5 y/o.
Maya Perry (b. 1994) is a multidisciplinary artist and musician based in New York City. She holds an MFA in Painting/Printmaking from Yale University. Her work spans animation, drawing, painting, sound, and performance, exploring themes of transformation, memory, and the body. Perry’s animated films have been screened at the Tricky Women Festival in Vienna and Lago Film Fest in Italy. She has exhibited and performed at Kinosaito in Verplanck, NY, Perrotin Gallery in New York, and The Next Contemporary in Toronto, Canada.
The NARS Animation Workshops series is made possible through our partnership with Brooklyn Public Library, Sunset Park branch.
The workshop series is supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, City Council Member Alexa Avilés, Con Edison, and Material for the Arts.
Email us at education@narsfoundation.org.
