PROGRAMS
SCHOOLS
Long Term Program
Studio’s Most Comprehensive Visual Arts Partnership Program
The Long Term residency provides art instruction in the optimal way – a multi-grade curriculum for five consecutive years, with a dedicated Artist Instructor, a dedicated art studio in each school, and a full supply of high-quality art materials. Students receive comprehensive visual arts experiences that encourage them to explore their imaginations and develop the Artist Habits of Mind which include the ability to stretch, explore, persist, observe, and reflect. Our approach prioritizes collaboration as we foster strong partnerships with school administrators, teachers, and partners, and offer professional learning for teachers and workshops for families.
Each school year culminates with an exhibition displaying artworks from all participating students to celebrate their artistic accomplishments. Student artwork is also prominently displayed in changing exhibitions throughout the school and included in Studio’s citywide exhibitions.
Additionally, our Long Term Program partners with 25 Title I schools across all five boroughs every school year, engaging up to 9,000 students and 550 teachers in the program.
EXPLORE
Children explore a full range of 2- and 3-D media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, printmaking, 2-D design, and media technology. They study artworks and artists from many different cultures, times, and places. They explore new ways of thinking – analyzing artwork, forming critical opinions, and justifying their ideas with evidence. They also consider the rich cultural resources of New York City and including those in their own neighborhoods.
DISCOVER
Students discover how to think like an artist – to observe closely, solve problems, persist through challenges, and reflect on their creative process. They discover the value of innovation, precision, and artistry. They are encouraged to be adventurous and realize that they can take on new tasks with confidence and curiosity.
CREATE
Studio’s approach emphasizes personal expression; students explore artistic inspiration– observation, memory, and imagination– to create personally meaningful work. Each piece of artwork expresses a child’s unique ideas, choices, and solutions. Collaborative pieces celebrate the combined artistic choices and social skills of small groups. Children create a body of artwork over a period of years.
LEARN
Studio’s Long Term Program gives children a comprehensive arts education. It builds foundational art skills that meet the grade level benchmarks of the NYC DOE Arts Blueprint. It develops creative and critical thinking skills and habits. Children learn to observe the world closely, develop their imaginations, and reflect on what they and their peers create. They build both academic and domain-specific vocabulary while talking about art, asking, and answering questions, and describing their choices and intentions.
For more information, contact (212) 459-1455 or longterm@studioinaschool.org
Pre-K / Kindergarten Program
CREATES A FOUNDATION FOR ALL LEARNING
Children are natural investigators and love to explore the world around them. Since 1993, Studio in a School has provided visual arts instruction through our Early Childhood (EC) program that focuses on exploration and discovery of painting, drawing, collage, and clay. Our EC program is designed to nurture creativity while building foundational skill such as close looking, making expressive choices, improving fine motor skills, developing focus and critical thinking, and building social-emotional skills such as collaboration and perseverance. Through Studio’s approach, children are also encouraged to talk about their art making process and learn to ask questions and engage in conversations that help provide the foundation for their emerging language and literacy skills.
In addition, our EC program offers intensive training and hands-on mentoring in visual arts instruction for early childhood educators to provide on-site mentoring in centers and schools throughout the city, where they coach teachers on activating their art centers, displaying children’s work, and providing workshops for parents. Early childhood teachers and supervisors report that working with Studio’s artist instructors has helped them enrich their classrooms and develop a sustainable visual arts curriculum which benefit children for years to come.
EXPLORE
Littlest learners explore painting, collage, drawing, and clay. Artist Instructors encourage open-ended exploration of materials and encourage process-oriented art making. Through inquiry-based lessons, Studio curriculum scaffolds skills that develop children’s confidence in their own creativity.
DISCOVER
When children make art, they discover fundamental principles such as mixing colors, making clay stand up, and arranging shapes into a design. They also learn problem-solving as they discover the properties and possibilities of the materials. Additionally, children develop appreciation for other points of view as classes work together, then share reflections on their work.
CREATE
Studio’s approach to art making sparks imagination while building essential skills such as holding a paint brush and learning to mix colors. We give children the space and time to make creative choices and experience the joy of art making.
LEARN
Through art making, children not only learn to make choices about materials, but they learn about their own preferences. Artist Instructors encourages close looking and teaches new vocabulary that encourages students to describe what they see. Through our inquiry-based approach, children engage, focus, persist, and take chances. Most importantly, they learn they can create what they’re capable of, which gives them the confidence, sparks their curiosity, and nurtures their excitement about learning.
For more information, contact (212) 459-1455 or earlychildhood@studioinaschool.org
Residency Program
TAILORED TO FIT EACH SCHOOL & GRADE
Studio NYC’s Residency Program helps students develop art making knowledge and skills so they can express themselves through the language of art and is available to all New York City public schools and community-based organizations. Our approach is rooted in the artistic process, focusing on exploration, discovery, and skill building in a variety of art media. Students learn that thinking like an artist means experimenting, looking closely, and finding creative solutions.
The program’s flexible nature helps schools meet their students’ needs through customized programs and curricula for all grades. We also offer specialized training in teaching practices and supports for multilingual learners and students with disabilities. This program is offered during the school day and after-school for grades 2K through 12. Schools choose two different media such as drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, or sculpture in a 14-week residency, which includes a professional development workshop. Each residency culminates in a final exhibition to celebrate and reflect on the students’ work and creative growth.
EXPLORE
The Residency Program offers students the chance to explore materials and ideas. They learn to try out different artistic points of view with a variety of media during each program. Studio artist instructors use high-quality art materials, offering students a rich tactile experience.
DISCOVER
Students discover that they can express themselves in new ways. They are encouraged to experiment and take chances to find multiple solutions for artistic and intellectual challenges. As they learn to work independently and collaboratively in a new medium, they often discover important insights about themselves.
CREATE
Students use memory, observation, and imagination to create art works that highlight their individuality. They are encouraged to develop work that reflects their unique experience, point of view, and interests.
LEARN
Students learn how to create art – and so much more. They learn to use artists’ tools, hone their technical and expressive skills. They develop and use vocabulary to describe their intentions and explain their choices. They persevere and solve problems through a multi-step process. They learn to envision an idea and develop it. Making art together gives students the inspiration, agency, and confidence to further pursue their ideas.
For more information, contact (212) 459-1455 or residencyprogram@studioinaschool.org.
Each year teachers and artists establish active collaborations, merging rigorous art instruction with academics in programs designed to meet the individual needs of each community, from early childhood through high school.
