Chelsea Preparatory Public School 33

About the Partnership

On May 24, 2011, the Whitney broke ground on a new building at the corner of Washington and Gansevoort Streets in the Meatpacking District. The new building will provide essential new space for the Museum’s collection, exhibitions, and education and performing arts programs.

Our partnership with Chelsea Preparatory Public School 33 started in spring 2009 when the Museum began to think about engaging communities and building relationships with schools in our future neighborhood. We are excited to engage the Chelsea Prep community, connecting them to the art and artists in the Whitney’s collection and special exhibitions, and encouraging them to be active participants in this changing neighborhood. In the years leading up to the opening of the new building, we will familiarize staff, students, and families with the architect’s ideas and creative process, and the building’s innovative design.

About Chelsea Prep

In a snapshot

Working with Students

Students working on an art project in the classroom, April 2010. Photograph by Ai Wee Seow

Students have multiple opportunities to visit the Whitney while studying at Chelsea Prep.

Involving the community

Teachers brainstorming curricula connections in the galleries, May 2010. Photograph by Ai Wee Seow

We encourage the Chelsea Prep community to be active participants in their changing neighborhood.

Professional Development for Teachers

Families sketching together in the galleries, November 2010. Photograph by Ai Wee Seow

A platform for interdisciplinary collaborations that connect classroom learning to the art on view, and the community around the school.

The Downtown Connection

Chelsea Prep PS 33 is less than a mile away from the Whitney’s new location! Both sites are connected by the High Line, an elevated park running through the West Side neighborhoods in lower Manhattan.

The new building, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will provide exciting opportunities for the Education Department to increase programming and become an essential new resource and destination for schools, community-based organizations, and general audiences in a neighborhood that currently has no major art museum.

Scholarships for Art School at the Whitney

Art School at the Whitney is a studio class just for artists ages 8–12. This three-session course on select Saturdays is an opportunity for young artists to further develop their own artistic practice, learn about the newest trends in contemporary art, and expand their ideas about what art can be.

We are proud to offer Art School scholarships to students from Chelsea Prep.

New: For Teachers

Whitney Kids