RED HOOK, NY.- After a three-year hiatus, the beloved nonprofit arts organization Mister ArtSee is making a triumphant return. On September 8th, Mister ArtSee will relaunch at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, coinciding with the reopening of Pioneer Works and its Second Sundays event. This marks a significant moment for the arts education community as Mister ArtSee resumes its mission to bring art to underserved areas across the nation.

Mister ArtSee, known for its mobile arts vehicle, serves as a national symbol advocating for arts education, akin to Smokey Bear’s role in forest conservation. Prior to the pandemic, Mister ArtSee had an extraordinary impact, distributing over $2 million worth of art educational materials to underserved school children in New York City, Chicago and Connecticut in 2019 alone ( A Nonprofit Distributes $2 Million Worth of Art Supplies and Books to New York City Public Schools (hyperallergic.com). However, in 2020, the organization was forced into hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, pausing its vital work just after completing the largest private donation of arts materials to New York title one schools in the history of the city.

The relaunch event at Pioneer Works promises to be a celebration of creativity, resilience, and the transformative power of art. As part of Pioneer Works’ Second Sundays series, Mister ArtSee will join a vibrant lineup of arts activities, exhibitions, and performances, offering a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with the arts and learn more about the organization’s renewed efforts.

“We’re thrilled to bring Mister ArtSee back to life and continue our mission of making art accessible in our unique and inventive ways to all children, regardless of their circumstances,” said Elliott Arkin, Founder and Executive Director of Mister ArtSee. “The pandemic may have paused our work, but it also reaffirmed the importance of creativity and expression to the social and emotional well-being for everyone in these challenging times. We’re excited to partner with Pioneer Works and be part of this incredible community event.”

As Mister ArtSee resumes its journey, the organization is set to expand its reach and impact, delivering art education materials and experiences to even more communities in need. The September 8th event at Pioneer Works is just the beginning of this new chapter, where Mister ArtSee will once again take to the streets, bringing the joy and inspiration of art to children of all ages across the country.

Mister ArtSee

Launching in 2011 by transforming a 1960 Mister Softee Ice Cream truck, ArtSee is a nonprofit 501(c)3 arts organization dedicated to advocating for arts education nationwide. Through its mobile arts vehicle, Mister ArtSee, creative programming, and partnerships with an array of leading arts organizations, the ArtSee project brings art directly to neighborhoods, schools and public spaces, especially underserved communities and children.

Mister ArtSee is a wondrous mobile art laboratory that can travel city streets, hosting a wide array of engaging projects: installations, sound-pieces, performances, presentations, visual art and videos. The ArtSee vehicle is both a work of art and space for art - a first of it's kind experimental platform in form and content. Mister ArtSee offers new modes of experience, a laboratory for new forms and perspectives that inspires children and adults to see and think differently about art and whose possibilities are limited only by the imagination of its participants.

Pioneer Works/ Second Sundays

Since 2013, Pioneer Works has hosted Second Sundays, a free monthly open house. Highlighting our programs, artists in residence, and Red Hook community members, Second Sundays features open studios, exhibitions, workshops, live music, and food across all three floors and in our garden. Join us on September 8th for our reopening weekend, following an exciting period of construction and improvements to our home. It’s an all day affair with previews from a new Met Opera commission, an exhibition tour led by artist Alejandro García Contreras, live music and more! As always, Second Sundays are free and open to all. View Series.

Pioneer Works (PW) is an artist and scientist-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural center in Red Hook, Brooklyn that fosters innovative thinking through the visual and performing arts, technology, music, and science.

PW provides visual and performing artists, musicians, scientists, technologists, community organizers, and educators the resources and platform they need to expand their practices. Pioneer Works has three floors of interconnected studio, performance, exhibition, and multipurpose spaces, which cultivate collaborations past the boundaries of traditional institutions by placing makers and thinkers in proximity to each other. PW supports onsite production through science, design, recording, and ceramics studios; media, virtual environment, and technology labs; darkroom; and garden. Multi-disciplinary programs, exhibitions, residencies, and performances are presented to the public, of which the majority are free.

Pioneer Works' approach encourages experimentation and empowers curious minds across diverse communities, knowledge bases, and frames of reference; in so doing, aims to accelerate culture through the free exchange of ideas and information for all.