Foundation for New American Art

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to bringing the Cultural Arts to children in low-income, underserved, at-risk communities.

Our mission is to educate, as well as nurture and strengthen the artistic and musical spirit of low-income communities. We provide free art, music, dance, theater, poetry and multidisciplinary core subject integration to the children who live there.

We have been underwriting and organizing free Cultural Arts-in-Education programs for the underserved on the Lower East Side of New York City for six years. We've also provided assistance, program support and have created new initiatives in California, Florida and Maine.

We're having an impact. Feedback from teachers and parents inspires us daily with accounts of how our programs are: encouraging self-esteem, fostering a greater interest in academics, building focus and generating enthusiasm for creativity and the arts, while countering the negative impacts of bullying, harassment and maltreatment. 

In 2020 we are expanding our community outreach programs to indigenous communities in Northern Quebec, Mexico and Israel.

Reports by the Rockefeller Foundation study, Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and the National Education Longitudinal Study confirm that that students who experience the arts in school score higher on SAT tests, are more likely to go to college and less likely to engage in criminal activities. 

85% of the children in New York City public schools receive no art and no music in the school. We provide free singing and music lessons, an opportunity to sing in the Lower East Side Children's Chorus and free Arts-in-Education classes for 18 weeks a year. Our work is critically important. The arts save lives.

Our founder is of Native American descent. Respect for the environment, the sacred power of song and dance, and respect for elders and youth figure strongly in our arts pedagogies. We teach the value of community, communication, stewardship of the earth and respect for the one's and others.

We are dedicated to racial, ethnic and gender respect, LGBTQ respect and equality. Our Board is diverse. We include young people's voices in our vision for the future of our charity.

Learn more at www.foundationfornewamericanart.org Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/umuseum and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/foundationfornewamericanart