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 9 years, our Free Saturday Family Workshop Program has sought to provide greater accessibility to contemporary arts and to encourage stronger community engagement.
Please join us for our upcoming Free Saturday Family Workshops at the PS001 The Bergen School in Sunset Park throughout January – June 2025.
Upcoming sessions are on February 15, March 22, April 12, April 26, and May 17.
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.
Jas Pinturas is a visual artist, educator, and Indigenous dancer from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Her work focuses on cultural identity and addresses the social issues affecting different labor sectors in New York City. Jas earned her BFA in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2018. In 2021, she was awarded the City Artist Corps Grant. With this grant, she curated "Behind Closed Doors," an exhibition addressing the emotional impact of COVID-19 on communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to systemic health and social inequities. Recently, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded Jas the Creative Equations Fund: Justice, Equity, Sustainability + Performing Arts for her cultural exchange work done withTecuanes Quetzalcoatl.
Jas has exhibited her work in various spaces, such as the Museum at FIT, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, and Gowanus Open Studios. During her leisure time, she is a member of the Mixtec Indigenous dance troupe Tecuanes Quetzalcoatl. Currently, she works as a Teaching Artist, providing free workshops with community organizations such as Ayotl Artes, Artists Alliance Inc., and the NARS Foundation.
The NARS Saturday Free Family Workshop series is made possible through our partnership with P.S. 001. The Bergen and Center for Family Life.
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, Council Member Alexa Avilés, 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 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.
