Join us for another edition of PAMM Art Storytime inspired by New York-born African American artist Tschabalala Self’s artwork, Chopped Cheese.

Building on the foundations of literacy, Pre-K students and their caregivers will enjoy a short museum tour of this work currently on display in our first-floor gallery of portraiture and figurative art. Through Self’s artwork, guests will explore the dynamics and social implications of bodegas, small corner stores most often associated with New York City. Bodegas serve primarily Black and Latinx communities, such as Harlem, and stand as culturally significant spaces in these communities to buy groceries or to have a deli meal such as a Harlem chopped cheese sandwich.

Visitors will then delve deeper into the vibrant urban culture of New York City and its bodegas, as we welcome author Carlos Matias, a New York native who will read aloud his newly released children’s book “Emergency Quarters.” The story follows a young boy from Queens who is given some quarters by his mother so that he can reach her in case of an emergency, but as he goes about his day, many delicious treats in the city beckon him to spend his emergency quarters.

Finally, to build upon the theme of what it means to visit the grocery store within your community, we will design reusable grocery bags for the little ones to use the next time they visit the grocery store with their families.