Current Exhibition

For 37 years, City Lore has been bringing folk and community-based artists from diverse cultural backgrounds to teach and share their art and inspire young people in New York City public schools. The remarkable methods and magic they bring to the classroom often trace back to the ways they themselves learned to sing, dance, paint, drum and more when they were growing up in their communities. 

Parampara, the Sanskrit word for lineage, here refers to the modes of learning a craft passed on through oral tradition. 

This exhibit presents ways of teaching and learning in a variety of cultures and art forms from ten artists who learned their art informally, in family and community settings, or in mentor and apprentice relationships. This exhibit highlights seven modes of teaching and learning, drawing on the experiences of the ten featured artists: Amino Belyamani, Aurelia Fernández, Haifa Bint-Kadi, Hector Morales, Malini Srinivasan, N’Ketiah Brakohiapa, Potri Ranka Manis, Rokafella, Sidiki Conde, and Quraishi.