SUGAR HILL CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ART AND STORYTELLING

What SUGAR HILL CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ART AND STORYTELLING does

Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling (SHCMAS) is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) children's museum located at 898 St. Nicholas Avenue @ 155th Street in the Sugar Hill historic district of Upper Manhattan, New York. It opened in October 2015 as a program of Broadway Housing Communities (BHC), a 40-plus-year-old nonprofit housing developer whose Sugar Hill campus integrates the museum with 124 units of affordable housing and an arts-based early childhood center serving 120+ neighborhood children. The museum occupies a 14,000-square-foot purpose-built facility containing galleries, artmaking studios, and community gathering spaces, and is programmatically focused on children ages 3-8 and their families.

The museum's core offerings consist of rotating exhibitions of legacy, contemporary, and emerging artists (including Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta, Derek Fordjour, and Nina Chanel Abney), a biennial Artist-in-Residence program that places working artists directly with young children, recurring storytelling programming such as Saturday Story Hour and an annual Storytelling Festival, and hands-on art-making workshops for children, families, and educators. Admission is free, supported by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Capital and operating support has been assembled from Oak Foundation, ArtPlace America, The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, and Capital One, among others. The museum maintains a partnership network spanning The Studio Museum in Harlem, Hudson River Museum, El Museo del Barrio, Schomburg Center, Bank Street College of Education, and Aperture Foundation, and distributes programming and announcements through its website, an email newsletter, and earned media coverage in outlets including The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Forbes, ArtForum, and CBS News. Governance rests with a Board of Trustees led by Neil A. Bhargava (President and Secretary) and including BHC Founder Ellen Baxter.

Name

SUGAR HILL CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ART AND STORYTELLING

Legal name

Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling

Website

https://sugarhillmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling is a nonprofit children's museum in Harlem, New York, offering free art exhibitions, a biennial artist residency, storytelling programs, and art-making workshops for children ages 3-8 and their families, operated as a program of Broadway Housing Communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Museum / Cultural Education Institution

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Museums (THAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Kids & Family Learning Workshops (Family Crafts, Junior Maker Classes) (THAJAKAO), Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE)

Keywords

• Children's museum
• Art exhibitions
• Storytelling programs
• Early childhood education
• Arts education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the museum relies on charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Donations support free access to exhibitions, storytelling and art-making programs.
2. Museum Memberships: The museum offers membership programs for visitors and supporters, though specific tiers and pricing are not publicly disclosed on the website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling operates a 14,000sf facility in Upper Manhattan offering rotating art exhibitions featuring legacy, contemporary, and emerging artists; a biennial Artist in Residence program that brings artists into direct engagement with children ages 3-8; interactive storytelling programs including Saturday Story Hour and an annual Storytelling Festival; and hands-on art-making workshops. The museum operates as a program of Broadway Housing Communities and provides free access to exhibitions, storytelling, and art-making programs for visitors from around the block and around the world.

Product overview

The Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling is a contemporary art institution specifically programmed for children ages 3-8, offering a unified portfolio of interactive exhibitions, Artist in Residence Program, storytelling programs, and art-making workshops. The museum's 14,000sf facility includes purpose-built galleries, artmaking studios, and community gathering spaces. The core offerings center on rotating exhibitions featuring legacy, contemporary, and emerging artists, combined with a biennial artist residency that brings artists directly to children for hands-on engagement. The museum also hosts an annual Storytelling Festival and regular Saturday Story Hours featuring prominent cultural figures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Exhibitions Program Rotating art exhibitions featuring legacy, contemporary, and emerging artists in 14,000sf of purpose-built galleries, artmaking studios, and community spaces, designed for children ages 3-8 and their families. Current tribute to Faith Ringgold remains on view through 2026.
• Artist in Residence Program Biennial artist residency program hosting artists committed to social engagement who work with children ages 3-8. Artists lead workshops, conduct open studios, and engage children directly with the creative process.
• Storytelling Programs Interactive storytime sessions featuring authors, artists, and cultural figures, including Saturday Story Hour and special events such as Pedro's Dream storytime with author Ana Karina Da Silva.
• Art-Making Programs Hands-on creative workshops and art-making activities for children, families, and educators designed to build confidence, self-esteem, and a love of learning.
• Storytelling Festival Annual storytelling festival featuring Grammy-nominated social justice artists, authors, and cultural figures including Len Cabral, Nina Crews, and Fyütch.
• Family & Community Events Community watch parties, special programming events, and family-friendly activities such as World Cup watch parties and holiday programming.
• Museum Membership Program Recurring membership program for museum visitors and supporters that provides access to exhibitions, storytelling and art-making programs while supporting the museum's nonprofit mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving over 120 neighborhood children and families through early childhood center
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hudson River MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2024Collaboration on Order/Reorder: Experiments with Collections exhibition, bringing selections from Hudson River Museum's collection to Sugar Hill audiences. Jointly curated exhibition exploring American art through landscapes, abstraction, and family themes.
• Broadway Housing CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum is a program of Broadway Housing Communities (BHC), a nonprofit that has operated for over 40 years with a community-based housing model generating pathways out of poverty for adults, children and families in West Harlem and Washington Heights. The museum joins 124 units of affordable housing and an arts-based early childhood center at BHC's Sugar Hill campus.
• Aperture FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner in the Our Family & Friends section.
• Bank Street College of EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner, supporting educational programming.
• Children's Museum of the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner in the Our Family & Friends section.
• El Museo del BarriominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner, cultural institution serving Upper Manhattan.
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner, major research institution in Harlem.
• The Studio Museum in HarlemminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner; collaborated on exhibitions including People, Places & Things featuring works from their collection.
• Dance Theater of HarlemminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner.
• Cool CultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner, organization connecting families to cultural institutions.
• Harlem Arts AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as museum partner, supporting arts in Harlem community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Children's Museum of Manhattan: Upper Manhattan children's museum serving families with interactive art and cultural exhibits. Most direct comparable on children's art programming in NYC; Sugar Hill lists CMA's peers among its Family & Friends network.
• Hudson River Museum: Regional museum in Westchester that Sugar Hill partnered with on the Order/Reorder collection-based exhibition. Comparable on family programming and curated exhibitions with a community-outreach mandate.
• Brooklyn Children's Museum: One of the oldest children's museums in the US, based in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, serving families with hands-on cultural and arts programming. Comparable in scale and audience (children + families) to Sugar Hill.
• Children's Museum of the Arts: NYC children's art museum in Manhattan focused on art-making programs and exhibitions for young audiences. Explicitly listed as a Sugar Hill museum partner under 'Our Family & Friends', making it a closely comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• El Museo del Barrio: Upper Manhattan cultural institution focused on Latin American and Caribbean art, listed as a Sugar Hill partner. Comparable on neighborhood-cultural-institution model but broader in scope and audience.
• The Studio Museum in Harlem: Major Harlem institution focused on art of the African diaspora; Sugar Hill collaborator on People, Places & Things. Operates in the same community but serves a broader (non-children-focused) art audience.
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Harlem-based NYPL research and cultural center covering Black history and culture, listed as a Sugar Hill partner. Comparable on culturally-rooted Harlem programming for community engagement.
• Queens Museum: NYC cultural institution with family programming, arts, and educational outreach including the Panorama of NYC. Comparable on the community-arts-museum-plus-education hybrid model.

Emerging players

• Bank Street College of Education: NYC education institution focused on child development and educator training, listed as a Sugar Hill partner for educational programming. Comparable on the overlap between children's arts education and school-age learning.

Others

• Dance Theater of Harlem: Harlem performing arts organization listed as a Sugar Hill partner. Comparable on Harlem cultural ecosystem and family-audience programming, but operates in dance/performing arts rather than museum format.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sugar-hill-childrens-museum-of-art-and-storytelling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SUGAR HILL CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ART AND STORYTELLING