By John Bayles
Parents who enjoy spending hours with their kids, looking at art and creating it, can now mark their calendars for the official opening of the new and improved Children’s Museum of the Arts. Founded in Lower Manhattan in 1988, the organization is moving from its original Soho location to a 10,000-square-foot former loading dock in Hudson Sq. at 103 Charlton St. The grand opening is set for Oct. 1.
Beyond the typical arts programming associated with run-of-the-mill museums, the Children’s Museum of the Arts has unique programs designed for homeless families and children with learning disabilities and those in foster care.
The new space is triple the size of the museum’s old digs and was designed by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos of the architecture firm Work AC.
The former loading dock will boast a new media lab featuring a sound station, a clay bar and video-making and animation equipment, which the museum hopes will garner even more accolades for its award-winning media programs.
“Make Art (In) Public” will be the first exhibition in the new space and will feature noted public artists like Keith Haring, Swoon, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Remed, Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Moondog.
For more information, visit www.cmany.org.
