Outreach Programs

While the new Museum building is still under construction, the Museum for African Art can bring an experience of Africa to your class. In this hour-long program, museum educators introduce students to West African masking traditions through guided discussion and hands-on activities. Students watch a film seeing how masks are used in Africa and handle a selection of masks. The program is aligned with New York State learning standards in social studies and visual arts and can be specially tailored to your curriculum. Cost: $100 per session.

Artist Residency Programs

The Museum for African Art’s Artist Residency Programs provides students with a unique in-depth experience that brings alive the arts of the Africa and the African Diaspora. Sessions are led by the Museum’s teaching artists who are experienced art educators who use their own creative art practice in their teaching. Teaching artists work collaboratively with classroom teachers to create a sequence of activities that is integrated into the classroom curricula and builds students’ knowledge and skills in the arts.

Teaching artists have expertise in areas such as African drumming and percussion; movement and dance (Capoeira, West African, Jazz and Hip Hop); creative writing and poetry; and visual arts (Lega hats from the Congo, Ndeble beaded aprons from South Africa). Students in these programs experience new forms of art in a sustained way and learn how to communicate their ideas effectively in both collaborative and individual art making. Residency programs are minimum of 5 sessions, and can last up to a year in length. Cost: $100-150 per session.

Volunteer Programs

The Museum for African Art is continually looking for volunteers who are willing to donate their time to share in our mission to help visitors develop a lifelong passion for the arts and cultures of Africa. Volunteers can work in various Museum departments to help the Museum serve its diverse audience. When the building opens, volunteers will participate in leading tours, serving as ushers, staffing the information desk, engaging with visitors in the Education Center to enrich their museum experience, and helping in other administrative capacities.

While the new Museum for African Art is still under construction, volunteers can assist in helping to spread the word about the Museum. Volunteers help staff community fairs and events and assist in school programs. Volunteers also can introduce and connect the museum to community organizations and groups, i.e. churches, education associations, business and alumni groups, which would be interested in learning more about and potentially working with the Museum when it is open.