As a wife and mother of three who is caring for an aging parent, I am experiencing a new way to live and be with my family. My new normal is evolving daily as I quickly learn and adjust to being a teacher and parent in my home. I am in this situation with you. It has been tough because assisting my children with their classwork and working has not been easy. Additionally, as an Executive Director of an arts learning institution, MOCHA is experiencing many challenges of being a non-profit in our new world of social distancing and non-essential closures. We are compliant, but it has come with great risk to our sustainability.
Since schools are closed, most of our Teaching Artists are having to adjust to a novel way to connect students to instruction. We are working closely with schools and our community to virtually connect our young people to our amazing Teaching Artists by delivering arts instruction using the Zoom application.
We are in this together, as we wouldn’t exist without our dedicated Teaching Artists, Staff, and YOU. Given the evolving situation around COVID-19, our Museum is temporarily closed, but mocha.org is still up and running with free videos for art-making using everyday items and simple supplies. We are also doing an art kit drive to deliver supplies to children who belong to our most vulnerable communities.
Only $20 will give a child supplies for daily art projects for a month. Along with food and household products, children need to create, build, express, and innovate; along with adults, they need an outlet too. Our children must have access to arts and MOCHA is joining forces with the arts community to provide these essentials to our young artists. Sign up at www.mocha.org/artkits.
Moreover, we have created options to give parents a break to work or take much needed personal time. You can sign up for our one-hour or four-hour virtual art classes and camps. Purchasing gift cards for future programming: Virtual Art Camps, Art and Sip, Birthday Parties, Open Studio, and Space Rental is available too. We’re grateful for our MOCHA community and look forward to connecting digitally with you until we are able to welcome you back to the museum.
With Gratitude,
Nina Woodruff-Walker, Executive Director
ninaww@mocha.org
