Materials for the Arts brings annual shopping
spree for New York City teachers curbside in LIC
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 3 - SEPT. 9, 2021 9
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
An annual tradition for teachers to
stock up on free supplies for the school
year went curbside this year.
On Aug. 24 and 31, members of Materials
for the Arts (MFTA) participated
in the program’s first-ever Back
to School Curbside Pickup, offering
free supplies to visual arts teachers
in partnership with the NYC Department
of Education’s Office of Arts and
Special Projects. Pickups took place at
the MFTA site, located at 33-00 Northern
Blvd. in Long Island City.
“The arts bring us all joy and fulfillment
and they’re essential to the
wellbeing of students, which is why
we’re committed to providing art educators
with increased access to supplies
during New York City’s recovery
from the pandemic,” said NYC Department
of Cultural Affairs Commissioner
Gonzalo Casals. “We encourage our
public school arts teachers to join us
for MFTA’s Back to School Curbside
Pickup, which provides crucial support
for arts programming needed to
reconnect students, teachers, schools
and communities.”
For several years MFTA held its
annual Back to School Shopping
Spree in their warehouse for teachers
to stock up on supplies free of
charge. The program continued to
serve teachers throughout the pandemic
with curbside pickups, MFTA
members to access much-needed free
supplies in a safe, socially distanced
environment.
This Back to School Curbside Pickup
provided visual arts teachers with
free supplies, and encouraged them to
utilize MFTA’s Curbside Pickup program
all year long. Art teachers chose
from a variety of donated materials to
support their work with students in
the classroom, including high-quality
Winsor & Newton markers, plus
paintbrushes, canvases, charcoal and
other professional-grade supplies that
were donated by Colart.
The program also allowed teachers
the opportunity to learn about
MFTA’s Education Center, which offers
professional development classes
for teachers, lesson plans, creative
reuse field trips and in-school residencies.
MFTA’s fallprofessional development
classes are set to begin in
early October, and teachers may earn
P-credits and CTLE hours for their
participation. See more information
about MFTA’s educational offeringshere.
“I thank the DOE Office of Arts
and Special Projects and Colart for
partnering with us on MFTA’s Back
to School initiative. We’re thrilled to
introduce more teachers to Materials
for the Arts and our resources,”
said Materials for the Arts Managing
Director Tara Sansone. “Now, more
visual arts teachers across New York
City will have necessary supplies for
creating artwork, as students and
teachers continue to reunite while our
city recovers.”
Reach reporter Emily Davenport by
e-mail at edavenport@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260-2567.
Photo courtesy of MFTA
On this LABOR DAY we would like to extend our
thanks to all the FRONT LINE WORKERS. Doctors,
Nurses, Police Officers, Firemen, Sanitation workers,
EMS Technicians, Supermarket workers who have
reported to work every day during the pandemic.
By doing so they have made it possible for all of us
to still have some semblance of a normal life.
We will be forever grateful.
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