The mission of the Children’s Museum of the Arts is to introduce children and their families to the transformative power of the arts by providing opportunities to make art side-by-side with working artists.
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.
