Children participate in a summer art workshop held at the new Museum of Young Art (MOYA) in downtown Syracuse.
The idea of a children’s art museum came to Susan Fix after she helped promote youth participation in the New York State Fair’s fine art & photography exhibit. When she saw the excited and awestruck reaction of the children to seeing their work on display next to that of their peers, she realized that an exhibit space for young art was long overdue.
Last year, the Museum of Young Art (MOYA) opened for the first time. One of the main goals of MOYA is to raise the self-esteem of young artists by having their works displayed, validated and valued by public viewing. Housed on the first floor of the Chase building at 110 West Fayette in downtown Syracuse, the museum rotates the work of local school district art classes. Each time new work is displayed, the museum holds an opening reception for the district’s children, parents and supporters. In addition, school programs, field trips, summer workshops and visiting artists provide children with unique experiences. Susan says that her goal is to inspire children to explore, create and display their artwork.
Being a new organization, Susan found it essential to seek ways to strengthen its reputation in the community and bring awareness to its services. She entered MOYA into the Community Foundation’s Program for Arts Capacity &Excellence (PACE) last summer to help it get off on the right foot. PACE is a three-year grant program and Susan found the required longterm planning to be very helpful. She credits the process with helping MOYA create realistic goals for its first three years in operation.
MOYA’s goals for the PACE program are centered on collaboration and network-building. Susan and her staff are using the grant dollars to raise awareness of the museum’s offerings, build partnerships with area businesses and organizations and attract new and recurring visitors to their exhibits.
Susan sees a tremendous future for MOYA. With the help of our funding and guidance, she hopes that their efforts are securing a permanent future for the museum. Over the next couple of years, they will be working hard to fundraise, develop a marketing plan and expand the number of children served.
“At the end of its three-year involvement in PACE, we envision MOYA as being self-sustaining and viable, engaging youth in creating the art that they enjoy and actively appreciating the art of others,” she said.