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MUSIC ART PUPPET SOUND INC

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 825192283 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE A20 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Small ($100K-$1M) · musicartpuppetsound.org
revenue
$120K
expenses
$133K
net assets
$39K
employees
mission · from form 990

TO BRING ART AND MUSIC EDUCATION TO UNDERSERVED CHILDREN AND ADULTS. TO CREATE IMAGINATIVE ART-MAKING SPACES WHERE PARTICIPANTS CAN THRIVE AS THEY EXPLORE

profile · synthesized from sources

MUSIC ART PUPPET SOUND INC (MAPS) is a nonprofit organization that provides art and music education to underserved children and adults. It creates imaginative art-making spaces where participants explore various artistic media, engage with local art history, and create original works. The organization operates through residencies and workshops in schools and community centers, primarily in New York and Massachusetts.

named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

Dollhouse Curriculum
Creative writing and art program using dollhouse themes to engage students in narrative and visual expression
EVCS After School
After-school art and music program at El Valle Charter School, focusing on creative exploration and original works
Mass MoCA Collaborations
Partnership with Mass MoCA to deliver art programs including "Sound Garden" and other interactive installations
Newcomers Summer Program
Summer art program for newcomer youth and high school students, offering visual arts, songwriting, and storytelling
PS 118 Residency
Art education program at PS 118 in New York City, involving puppet-making and storytelling workshops for students
Remote Learning Initiatives
Virtual workshops including "Household Percussion," "Cactus Series," and "Rono" to support remote art education
activities · 6 groups

What they do

  • Community Art Education Workshops 2 activities
    • Conduct school and community art residencies
      Designs and facilitates long-term art residencies in schools, including biannual community-building projects and child-directed "carnival" formats, engaging all grade levels in collaborative art-making. Activities include integrating social studies into visual art, creating school-wide anthems, and displaying student work schoolwide.
    • Deliver art and music education programs for underserved communities
      Provides participatory art and music education programs for underserved children, adults, refugee and migrant families, and low-income seniors through creative, multidisciplinary workshops in painting, drawing, sculpture, music, puppetry, mask-making, and songwriting. Programs are delivered in summer camps, school residencies, and community settings.
  • Storytelling and Literacy Resource Development 1 activity
    • Develop and distribute educational curricula and resources
      Creates and shares video curricula, lesson plans, and educational videos for use by teachers and students, including Spanish-translated materials. These resources have been used to generate over 1,000 student artworks and support museum-based education initiatives.
  • Nonprofit Retail and Merchandise Sales 1 activity
    • Operate online shop to support outreach programs
      Runs an online shop where all proceeds directly support art and music education outreach for underserved communities, with free shipping offered for all purchases.
  • Experimental Circus and Immersive Theater Production 1 activity
    • Produce and present multidisciplinary performances and installations
      Creates and presents time-based performances and installations in puppetry, experimental performance, video/sound art, and mixed media collage, exploring themes of cosmology, biology, place, and invented mythologies. Performances occur in traditional venues and nontraditional spaces such as assisted living facilities, gardens, and rural barns across New York, Pennsylvania, and Maine.
  • Arts Education Professional Development 1 activity
    • Provide professional development for teaching artists
      Offers virtual workshops and training for teaching artists, including a professional development session for participants in the Aspen Art Museum's Artist Fellowship program.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Collaborate on ongoing music and performance projects
      Co-teaches ukulele and songwriting classes at Saint Ann's School since 2012 and collaborates on the ongoing video installation project Evening Concert Series.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$120K
Contributions & grants$36K30%
Program service revenue$84K70%
Investment income$4950%
Other revenue$156
expenses
Total expenses$133K
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits$113K
Grants paid out
balance sheet
Total assets$40K
Cash
Investments
Liabilities
Net assets$39K
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -36.4%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 2
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
AARON ROURK OFFICER 40 $52K
RACHEL E SHERK OFFICER 40 $52K
board members · 2
  • PAT BADT — DIRECTOR
  • TYLER ABRAMSON — DIRECTOR
relationships · 43

Who they work with

  • 14Y Partner — Venue where Rachel Sherk has presented time-based performance works.
  • Academy for Teachers Partner — Organization with which both Rachel Sherk and Aaron Rourk were affiliated as teaching fellows in 2016 and 2017.
  • Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Partner — Site of artist residencies for both Rachel Sherk and Aaron Rourk.
  • Alejandra Badillo Partner — Collaborated on Spanish translation of video curricula for the Aspen Art Museum project.
  • Allentown Art Museum Partner — Collaborates on educational art initiatives.
  • Allentown Art Museum Partner — Created a video exploring "What is a Museum?" for the Allentown Art Museum, incorporating staff interviews and art projects.
  • Aspen Art Museum Partner — Collaborated on the creation and implementation of four video curricula used by teachers in Colorado, with student work exhibited at the museum.
  • Aspen Art Museum Partner — Collaborated with the Aspen Art Museum to deliver a professional development workshop for its Artist Fellowship program participants.
  • Aspen Art Museum Partner — Partners on virtual professional development and art programming.
  • BCHS Partner — Runs gardening and art-based programs such as Gardening Beginnings and Perennial Garden.
  • BNRC Partner — Collaborates on nature-based art projects such as BNRC Birds.
  • Cedar Crest College Partner — Engages in puppet-making workshops with students.
  • Clark Art Institute Partner — Collaborates on educational art projects.
  • Crosby Academy Partner — Provides art programming.
  • Diva Smith Partner — Composed original music for the video curricula created for the Aspen Art Museum.
  • EVCS Partner — Delivers after-school, in-person, and remote art and music programs, including puppet productions.
  • IRC Partner — Collaborates on community art initiatives under "MAPS + IRC".
  • John Salazar Partner — Collaborated on Spanish translation of video curricula for the Aspen Art Museum project.
  • Knox Gallery Partner — Collaborated with Knox Gallery to create an installation and performance.
  • Mass MoCA Partner — Co-presented a durational performance with MUSIC ART PUPPET SOUND INC during an open day event.
  • Mass MoCA Partner — Collaborates on art and sound programs, including the Sound Garden at Mass MoCA.
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art Partner — Partners on youth engagement program "Teens Take the Metropolitan Museum of Art".
  • Migrant Education Program Partner — Provides art education services to migrant students.
  • Muddy Brook Elementary School Partner — Partnered with MUSIC ART PUPPET SOUND INC to deliver a light and sound waves program to first grade classes.
  • Mālama Honua Partner — Collaborates on cultural and educational art projects.
  • NYPL Partner — Partners on sound art programming.
  • New Marborough Partner — Conducts fall art programming.
  • New Marlborough Central School Partner — Hosts the summer camp program at its facility
  • Newcomer Academy Partner — Partner organization providing a one-year school for newly arrived refugee, immigrant, and migrant students with which MAPS collaborates to deliver art workshops.
  • Newcomer Academy Partner — Provides art, puppet-making, songwriting, and storytelling programs for students.
+ 13 more
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Immersive, Play-Based Creative Environments
    methodology: experimental_art_playground
    By designing experimental, curiosity-driven spaces that emphasize play and invention, we cultivate creativity and learning because open-ended exploration supports risk-taking, imagination, and deep cognitive engagement.
  • Interdisciplinary Arts Integration for Holistic Learning
    methodology: arts_integration
    By integrating arts with academic and scientific subjects—such as using puppetry and instrument-making to teach STEM concepts—we enhance understanding and retention because creative, hands-on experiences make abstract ideas tangible and memorable.
  • Participatory Art as Empowerment
    methodology: participatory_art_education
    By engaging underserved children and adults in collaborative, process-based art-making, we promote personal growth and inclusion because creative participation fosters agency, belonging, and expressive development.
  • Place-Based and Narrative-Driven Art Education
    methodology: place_based_storytelling
    By using landscape, myth, and interdisciplinary storytelling—through puppetry, light, and sound—we deepen ecological and imaginative understanding because narrative frameworks help learners connect emotionally and intellectually to complex systems.
  • Student-Directed Creative Learning
    methodology: student_directed_learning
    By centering student interests, play, and self-directed exploration in arts education, we foster deeper engagement and creative growth because autonomy and choice stimulate intrinsic motivation and sustained participation.