Institute of Museum and Library Services awards over $100,000 to support educational programming at MASS MoCA

NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS — The Institute of Museum And Library Services (IMLS) has selected MASS MoCA for one of its Museums for America awards, providing over $100,000 in support for the pilot year of the museum’s new educational initiative, Art for Change, a program designed to deepen programming and build a better understanding of the impact of its 15‐year partnership with North Adams and Northern Berkshire public school students.

Art for Change (A4C) is a four-year (2015–2019) programmatic and evaluation project based on Kidspace, the museum’s child-centered gallery and art-making space that provides arts education experiences through curated, theme-based exhibition projects in partnership with local schools. The A4C project creates thematic arts education programming under a single narrative and developmental arc that enforces positive habits of mind, through four identified themes of empathy, optimism, and courage, which are fundamental to a child’s ability to problem solve. Each year’s theme will build on the previous one and involves the development of a sophisticated platform of exhibitions and related programs.

It Takes a Village (October 2015–September 2016), the start-up phase of the A4C project, is the pilot year of this initiative. The program allows Kidspace to expand partnerships with community and school partners, increase school programming, and institute a much-needed evaluation system for school partners orchestrated by a professional evaluation team. Learning experiences center on two thematic exhibitions that delve in to empathy and optimism, with museum field trips, art-making, artist residencies, performances, teacher workshops, and curriculum development for 2,400 pre-K through eighth grade students.

It Takes a Village pilots the first year of a longitudinal evaluation of Kidspace’s relationship with local partner schools and puts in place an accurate data collection mechanism to effectively measure impact and track results over the long-term.

This year, the IMLS received 521 applications requesting $53,903,405. Of these, 202 projects were selected to receive funding totaling $20,207,105. IMLS’s peer review panel evaluates all eligible and complete grant applications, assessing the merit of each proposal and its fit with the goals of the grant program and project category. For more information about IMLS, visit www.imls.gov.

About Kidspace at MASS MoCA

Kidspace at MASS MoCA is a child-centered art gallery and hands-on studio that presents exhibitions and educational experiences in collaboration with leading artists. Currently, Kidspace features the exhibition Walk in My Shoes (on view through May 23, 2016), which features artwork chosen to activate empathic responses and amplify awareness of one’s feelings and compassion towards others. Kidspace offers free public hours during the school year, from 11am-5pm every day except Tuesdays, with art-making on the weekends and during school holidays. During the summer, Kidspace is open from 10am–6pm Sundays through Wednesdays, and 10am–7pm Thursdays through Saturdays, with art-making every day.

About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19^th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.

MASS MoCA’s galleries are open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is open seasonally, through November 30, weather permitting. Gallery admission is $18 for adults, $16 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.

Download the Institute of Museum and Library Services press release