Costume the kids, bring on the plays, dance ‘til you drop, sing your heart out, draw, paint — make art count! The arts and arts education now count more than ever in New York City public schools. Initiatives that seek to restore the arts to school curriculum and programming, such as The New York City Partnerships for Arts in Education (NYCPAE) and Project ARTS (Arts Restoration Throughout the Schools), have served our students well and continue to send the message that arts must be a part of education, not separate from learning. NYCPAE will institute arts education programs in 82 schools this fall. Through Project ARTS, all 1,100 NYC schools will be able to return the arts to their schools through various programs and planning.

Whether schools spend money on hiring staff, training teachers, inviting teaching artists to work with individual classes, or taking trips to museums and other cultural institutions, there is never enough money in a school budget for everything the school needs. This is where Materials for the Arts comes in.

Materials for the Arts (MFA), New York City’s own reuse/waste reduction program, has served the arts and cultural community since 1979. MFA collects reusable items from businesses and individuals and makes them available free of charge to nonprofit arts organizations, cultural programs and social service agencies that have arts programming. As a result of an inter-agency agreement between the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Board of Education (BOE), all public schools have joined the roster of recipient groups that can shop at the MFA warehouse. An additional part of the agreement with BOE was the creation of a staff position to oversee the work with the schools. I was hired in June of 1998 as MFA’s Education Administrator. Here is how the MFA/BOE arrangement works:

A school (or an arts group) must have a contract to visit MFA. Schools have been phased into the MFA system over three years based on their Project ARTS designation. At this time, Phase I and Phase II schools are eligible to register with MFA. In September 1999, the Phase III schools will be sent contracts thus completing the cycle begun in November 1997. So far, 800 schools have received contracts and 517 have registered. Once registered, all schools can shop for consumable arts materials but are not eligible for furniture, computers, or electronics. These durable goods are reserved for the arts and cultural organizations.

In addition to working on contracts and trouble-shooting for the schools, the coordinator is in charge of making sample projects and, it is hoped, inspiring teachers. Unlike the hundreds of recipient groups that have frequented the MFA warehouse for over twenty years, public school teachers are not yet familiar with the variety of materials available and often need a little assistance. As a result of requests from schools and school districts, Materials for the Arts plans to offer training workshops during the 1999/2000 school year. The workshops will provide art teachers as well as classroom teachers with some basic concepts for using materials such as cardboard, fabric, notions, trim and industrial by-products, and will emphasize the fundamentals of reuse and waste reduction.

When one first arrives in the warehouse, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the variety and type of materials available. Aside from such standbys as paper and fabric, one needs a little imagination to successfully use many of the materials on hand. Since one goal of Project ARTS is to encourage all classroom teachers to use art in their curriculum development, art teachers are encouraged to take items that may be useful for their colleagues who teach math, science or other core subjects. This integration of the arts into other subject areas is one of my personal goals. The MFA warehouse is scoured for items that can be used across the board in educating our students.

This past school year, I led a number of workshops on hat making for arts teachers, principals, students and staff developers. The workshops have been successful because they put materials right in the hands of the participants and the results are immediate. Part of the excitement of working with school staff is watching them work on projects and inspire one another. Often, people who feel they are not artistic come up with the most creative and unique projects. This gives them the confidence to try new things and open themselves to new experiences. We want to expose our students to these very same experiences. Learning from each other, using peers for inspiration and guidance, problem-solving and honing critical thinking skills should be part of the educational process.

A wonderful group of people work at MFA. Susan Glass, MFA’s director since 1984, talked about our work with the Board of Education: "It had been a dream of mine to get materials into the hands of public school teachers and students. The size of our operation had always prevented us from expanding to include Board of Education teachers. In the early 1990s, we tried to encourage the Board to start its own program, Materials for the Schools.

When referred to Sharon Dunn (who was working as the director of the Office of the Arts and Cultural Education), she understood immediately the significance of having such a program. We held a giveaway at Floyd Bennett Field in 1991 and 1992 to assess the viability of such a program. We both wanted it to succeed, but the timing wasn’t right. After that, to keep the idea alive, we held open shopping weeks during the winter school break for elementary and middle school teachers. When Ms. Dunn began her new assignment as the Special Assistant for the Arts, we both realized that the time had come for Materials for the Arts to formally work with the BOE. The board has been so supportive. It is hard to believe that, come this fall, MFA will double the size of our warehouse, making it possible to work with all 1,100 public schools. Seeing teachers rifling through boxes and bins is exciting. BOE teachers are very appreciative of what we are offering. They and their students send great thank-you cards."

This fall, MFA will experience a life-changing event when we move to a 20,000, square foot warehouse. This larger space will give us the opportunity to expand the number of days and hours we are open and available accept donations from businesses and individuals. One of the amazing things about MFA is that we do virtually no soliciting for donations. People seem to know about our service and make referrals to other businesses and nonprofits. We book appointments two weeks in advance for pick-ups, and there have actually times when we have had to turn down valuable items due to space limitations. At the same time, we help businesses dispose of their unwanted, yet reusable items.

After a year at Materials for the Arts, it is easy to say that New Yorkers are very generous people. The wealth of donations is astounding. Furniture, computers, fabric, notions, mannequins, slide sheets, binders, and "Atchotchkes" are reused to adorn the sets of theater companies, to costume dancers and actors and to furnish the offices of cultural organizations. Most of all, these donations inspire the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of children and adults throughout New York City. Materials for the Arts is an example of government at its best.

Harriet Taub is the Education Administrator for Materials for the Arts. For additional information about MFA, contact (212) 255-5924.

Marge Markey

Each spring, the Arts Partners Intergenerational Program seeks to strengthen community ties by creating and fostering relationships among seniors, youth, artists, teachers and arts organizations. For about 14 years, the Intergenerational Program has provided seniors and fourth or fifth graders with the chance to experience art. The programs have generally focused on the history of the local community as it relates to the students’ social studies curriculum. This year, however, there was somewhat of a departure from the norm.

The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning worked with two fourth grade classes in Jamaica, Queens and partnered them with two senior centers. The South Jamaica Senior Center partnered with P.S. 48 and the JASA/Rochdale Senior Center partnered with PS 80. Dance teaching artist Mary Seidman choreographed a movement piece with the students involved in both partnerships that would encourage both age groups to participate. Producing a dance made up of several basic elements: quick-paced, but not fast, walking, timing and precision, listening to music, and a series of turns; finally the students and seniors felt more comfortable with movement. This worked particularly well in the Rochdale partnership where several seniors, one who was nearly ninety years old, danced with the children during their culminating event.

Ceramics teaching artist Paula Kantor worked closely with both sites as well. The participants made clay sculptures including wonderful little busts with expressive faces and wild hair as well as small trays. The works were displayed for all to enjoy during the culminating events and the process of the art making was captured on slides that were viewed on that day as well. Aside from these experiences, the most intimate art project involved the students from P.S. 80 writing biographies on some of the seniors from the Rochdale Senior Center. The students collaborated on wonderful books based on the lives of 10 of the seniors. The books were accented with depictions of the senior’s history, heritage, loves and lives. After sharing a special lunch together, the students read the books and then presented them to the seniors as gifts.

Henry Street Settlement was the second cultural partner for the Intergenerational Program. Henry Street worked with students from P.S. 134 and seniors from the Good Companions Senior Center on the Lower East Side and with students from P.S./M.S. 20 of the Bronx neighborhood of Bedford Park and seniors from the Rose Hill Apartments. The first partnership served Chinese/English bilingual 3rd and 4th graders and seniors. The goal of the program was to improve their English language and writing skills. In order to try to effect this change, the writing curriculum was integrated with the visual arts using immigration as the overall theme of the workshops. Both seniors and students were generally immigrants or first generation Americans with the seniors having come from Eastern Europe or Puerto Rico. Visual teaching artist Mary Ting led the workshops with Ms. Yang, the classroom teacher.

The participants created story pages that included drawings, photographs of themselves, photocopied images of mementos and letters to each other about their shared experiences. Together, the children and seniors learned how to dye paper and experimented with collage. Through this working relationship, conversation flowed naturally between the two groups and the seniors were able to share immigration stories, their feelings and life experiences with the students. As happens many times when different generations share themselves, they find they have much in common and begin to break down barriers that have separated their understanding of one another in the past.

In the collaboration between students from P.S./M.S. 20 and seniors from the Rose Hill Apartments, visual teaching artist Betsy Kelleher and Henry Street Settlement Arts Coordinator Katha Cato set out to create arts workshops that encourage collaboration, interaction and communication. They decided on a quilting project with a story-telling component. After discussing the textures, colors and patterns of quilts from the early 1900’s, such as the "Rising Star Quilt," to contemporary ones, such as an "Event T-Shirt Quilt," the students and seniors set out to create their own quilts through fabric painting techniques.

After hearing about the tragic events at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, the group decided they wanted to send their quilt to the students as a gift. The group set out to design a work that focused on the beauty of the world: the natural landscape of Colorado, flowering gardens, smiling faces, sincere words and musical scores. While the children and seniors created their pieces for the quilt, storyteller Jane Ives shared stories with themes of forgiveness, understanding and acceptance to underscore that acts of kindness are what make the world peaceful and joyful.

Through the Intergenerational Program, DCA also was pleased to serve new members of the NYC public school community - high school students and parenting teen mothers. Elders Share the Arts’ (ESTA) partnership with the Metropolitan Corporate Academy of Fort Greene, Brooklyn and seniors from the Colony South Senior Center, The Baptist Temple as well as ESTA’s elder storytellers, The Pearls of Wisdom, centered around theater and community service learning. Theater artists Roberto Rossi and Will Badgett worked closely with the group to teach them presentation skills.

Using the skills developed during the workshops, a team of students and seniors conducted drama presentations in six classes at the Academy. After drama warm-ups, a physical warm-up and a theater game, the students of the visited classes interviewed each other and told stories about a moment of fear in their lives. From this jumping off point, the students then formed improvisation groups and acted out scenes based on these stories. One of the teachers expressed that she was impressed with how much the students gained both in theater and leadership skills.

The overall goal of this collaboration is to infuse theater arts into the school’s humanities curriculum. Apart from the drama presentations, Susan Perlstein, ESTA executive director and trainer, conducted school-wide teacher training in community service learning, theater, and intergenerational arts programs. As a result, an arts advisory committee was formed to coordinate arts activities at the school and to develop curriculum. Lesson plans are being developed to further these goals.

The exceptional participation of the seniors is what made this partnership special. A dedicated group of seniors maintained a steady and productive relationship with the students throughout the residency. To continue the relationship a little longer, arrangements were made for the group to attend a live performance together. After the residency, the seniors and students took a trip across the street to Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Majestic Theater to experience "The Music Never Stops: A Tribute to Betty Carter." A great time was had by all as they were touched by the tribute to an exceptional artist, teacher and Fort Greene resident.

Aside from the Fort Green partnership, Elders Share the Arts piloted an intergenerational program for pregnant and parenting teens in East Harlem. As these young women have special needs and responsibilities, the program had to reflect broader goals through a more flexible structure. Through the diligence and talent of teaching artist Esperanza Cortes and a supportive school staff, the young women immersed themselves in hand-sewn quilting, an art form that has been passed on from one generation to the next . Quilting requires concentration as well as conversation; personal creativity as well as interpersonal activity. It was an art form well suited to spark these young women.

During the 12 weeks that Esperanza spent at their school, the students went from being cautious and anxious to curious, engaged, and productive. Over the course of the residency, some students left to give birth while others, whose children were being cared for in the school’s nursery, were able to attend most of the workshops. The results were uplifting: many of the young women worked diligently to finish quilts for their babies, some learned to use a sewing machine, and others, who transitioned into the program later, made baby pillows.

As the students chose which fabrics to incorporate into their quilts and created personal designs, the completed works were unique representations of the students’ tastes and talents. During the final workshops, one of the young women stayed late to finish her artwork. She completed the intricacies of hand-sewing satin borders around letters spelling out the name of her daughter as well as an opening in the quilt through which she could fasten a family photo. One the young lady was done, she repeatedly beamed out loud "I can’t believe I made this!" Those words say it all.

Information on Henry Street Settlement and Elders Share the Arts provided by Alan Lynes (Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning), Katha Cato (Henry Street Settlement), and Susan Perlstein (Elder Share the Arts).

The information contained in the above article is current as of its August 1999 publication date. Please be advised that this information may be out of date.