The photo of a man covered in floaties, taken by Alex Cruz of PS 24 in Brooklyn, captured the Museum of Modern Art's eye.
NYCATA/UFT Treasurer and retired teacher Clarice Mims stands tall next to her painting "Ain't No 40 Acres."
Albert Justiniano, an art teacher at the Brooklyn School for Career Development, says he hopes students take inspiration from his portrait of his granddaughter being on display at MoMA.
A sculpture by Damon Lundy, a teacher at the HS of Art & Design in Manhattan.
A fashion design by Belinda David, a teacher at the HS of Fashion Industries in Manhattan.
Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art will have the chance to view an exhibition of artwork by UFT members until April 27. The exhibition, titled “The Art of the Educator,” is the result of a partnership between the museum and the New York City Art Teachers Association/UFT, a UFT professional committee for art teachers.
“This exhibition will make a big impact on viewers,” said Albert Justiniano, an art teacher at the Brooklyn School for Career Development. “It might make a student feel that one day they’ll put their work in MoMA, too.”
Justiniano, one of 67 artist-educators whose work is in the exhibition, submitted a portrait of his granddaughter that featured symbols of the family’s heritage, such as the Flor de Maga, the flower of Puerto Rico, and Nigerian red coral.
Justiniano said he teaches his students to express their own cultures through art, too. “I want them to feel comfortable in their skin,” he said.
Other works in the exhibition include sculptures, drawings, fashion design and photography. They were selected from more than 280 submissions, said Jackie Cruz, the executive chair of NYCATA/UFT.
Cruz enjoyed seeing the artists and their friends and family explore the exhibition for the first time at a reception on March 9. “People were beaming, and their loved ones were so happy,” she said.
Among the happy artists in the crowd was Alex Cruz, a paraprofessional at PS 24 in Brooklyn. Cruz submitted a photograph of a street vendor at a beach in Cartagena, Colombia. “The man was covered in floaties,” he explained. “It caught my eye because there’s a lot of playfulness — a comedy element.”
Cruz often travels on school breaks, keeping his camera close for interesting photo ops. The students love to see his work when he returns. “They ask, ‘Where did Mr. Cruz go this break? This is the Grand Canyon. This is a jungle in Jamaica,’” he said.
Now, he hopes to share his work with students by taking them to visit the exhibition.
“There’s this idea that educators should keep our heads in the books and follow lesson plans,” he said, “but we have a lot of creativity to share.”
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