MISSION

The mission of the Children’s Museum of the Arts is to extend the benefits of the arts to all children and their communities and to secure the future of the arts by inspiring and championing the next generation of artists and art lovers. We work to fulfill our mission by providing authentic hands-on art experiences for children with artists, both in our art-filled interactive museum, in the community, and by collecting and exhibiting children’s art. We are committed to celebrating the artist in every child and promoting access to the arts for all children regardless of ability or socioeconomic status because we believe the arts are critical to child and youth development and to strong and vibrant communities.

History:

Founded in October 1988 by Kathleen Schneider, the museum has been located in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo since its inception. As CMA’s audience grew in size, its young artists grew as well, eventually outgrowing the facility on Lafayette Street. CMA needed a larger space to expand its’ programming, reaching more communities and kids up to age 15. In 2010, CMA broke ground on a former loading dock west of SoHo, working with architects and developers to create a state-of-the art facility that would benefit a range of ages and abilities. Children’s Museum of the Arts opened the doors to its new 10,000sq ft. home on Charlton Street in 2011. Since then, CMA has served hundreds of thousands of children and families, 27% free of charge.