Arts Build Community at the Brooklyn Museum

A group of children and caregivers enthusiastically roamed the galleries of the Brooklyn Museum on a recent Saturday. Led by a team from the museum’s education department, they explored the collection and filled out special bingo cards to enhance their learning interactively.

Later, they completed a craft project, ate lunch together, and received gift bags with t-shirts, artists kits, and family passes for future visits.

The mummy chamber was a favorite, while others pointed to dinosaurs, displays of Caribbean arts, and a large portrait of groundbreaking Brooklyn politician Shirley Chisolm as the works they would remember most.

The trip was part of Osborne’s Brooklyn-based Recreation for Children of Incarcerated Parents and their Families program, or Rec, which builds community among children and caregivers with incarcerated loved ones by offering them afterschool activities and outings, as well as summer camp. These relationships offer support that can help children cope with the absence of a loved one.

The event was organized in collaboration with NALA Projects, a nonprofit focused on building community engagement through the arts. Anna Tovchigrechko, a college student who has participated in Osborne’s See Us, Support Us initiative, traveled from Maryland to distribute additional gifts she secured for the group.