Friends of Materials for the Arts

[image description: people engaged in a workshop making collages in a studio]

Friends of Materials for the Arts is a 2016 Grantee of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation

MFTA Loves New York exhibition at MFTA Gallery

Friends of Materials for the Arts Materials strives to change the way the general public thinks about materials and “waste” through creative reuse. A longtime program of the City of New York, Materials for the Arts (MFTA) is New York City’s premiere municipal reuse center and as its nonprofit partner, Friends of Materials for the Arts guides all of its operating, educational and public programming. With an active membership of over 4,700 public schools, city agencies and arts and cultural nonprofits, the principals of recycling and reuse are readily accessible to these organizations in the form of free materials housed in a 35,000 square foot warehouse. In addition, Friends of Materials for the Arts offers extensive arts education, professional development and gallery programs in order to extend our mission beyond the warehouse walls.

Support from the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation helps to sustain MFTA’s Gallery programs and makes it possible for the core values of creative reuse to reach the general public. Artists Lina Puerta, Edisa Weeks and Juan Hinojosa have been Artists in Residence and featured work in the Gallery that was created entirely of reusable materials from the MFTA warehouse. This practice also guides the monthly Third Thursday Artist Workshops, which connects reuse artists with members of the community in a free open studio and workshop. Art remains a fitting vehicle for sustainable practice, and with additional support for MFTA’s Gallery programs, creative reuse continues to gain momentum and acclaim. Current exhibit “Blonde Ambition” by Juan Hinojosa made the Untapped Cities “Must See” list.

Visit the Materials for the Arts website for more information.