The Center for Critical Skills 2002

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With the rise of global markets through agreements such as NAFTA, New York City has undergone a process of deindustrialization. This has unfortunately resulted in the loss of jobs for former factory workers. However, it has also created new opportunities. By founding the Center for Critical Skills, the Museum of Modern Art recognizes that the future of New York City’s economy depends on a variety of knowledge- and culture-based occupations, which in turn will rely upon a strong and credentialed creative class.
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Using public and private funding (some made available by Congress in the NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance program), the CSS will serve as a pilot project to provide former employees of the Swingline Stapler Company with the critical capacity necessary to contribute to and compete in today’s curatorial job market.
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Unlike some traditional reskilling programs which do little more than prepare workers for low-wage, unrewarding labor, the CSS aims to give students the freedom and flexibility that they need to flourish as self-directed participants in cultural knowledge production.
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To accomplish these goals, MoMA has joined forces with the NYC Human Resources Administration (which oversees the majority of the city’s reskilling initiatives) and the Professional and Administrative Staff of MoMA (PASTA-MoMA) to hire the Center for Urban Pedagogy to design a flagship facility for the CSS in the heart of the booming cultural district of West Chelsea, where students will be a short walk from a rich collection of cultural resources. They not only will study the profession of modern art curation, but will see where and how it happens on an everyday basis. Such daily experiences are central to the educational philosophy of the CSS.
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Timeline
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1994
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passes Congress. NAFTA is designed to simplify and increase trade in North America, capitalizing on the comparative advantages of Canada, the US, and Mexico.
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1997
Taking advantage of the new regulatory framework of NAFTA, Swingline announces that it will move its stapler manufacturing operations from Queens to Nogales, Mexico, resulting in the loss of over 450 jobs.
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1998
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) passes Congress. WIA reorients job training programs away from being a “safety net” for the unemployed towards being a tool for shaping regional economies. The legislation seeks to align job training programs with individual states’ economic development programs.
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2000
Members of the Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA/UAW Local 2110) at the Museum of Modern Art strike for better wages and more secure health care coverage. After five months, the union wins all of its demands.
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2001
The Museum of Modern Art presents Workspheres, a design exhibition “dedicated to the way we work and the role of design in creating effective solutions for future work environments and tools.”
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2002
MoMA QNS opens on the site of the former Swingline Factory.
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2003
The Center for Critical Skills opens on the site of the former White Box Gallery.

Participants

Damon Rich, Designer
Rosten Woo, Artist
AJ Blandford, Technical consultant

Resources & Links

Organizations

Museum of Modern Art Professional and Administrative Staff Association	The Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA) of The Museum of Modern Art, represents 250 administrative assistants, archivists, curatorial staff, conservators, educators, graphic artists, librarians, registrars, salespeople, secretaries, visitor assistants, and writers.
White Box	Our Center for Critical Skills project was first shown as part of White Box's series of exhibitions called Six Feet Under: Guggenheimlichkeit.

Other

NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance

The NAFTA-Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) Program was established under the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1993. The NAFTA-TAA Program combines aspects of two laws that have been in effect for many years: Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program, under the Trade Act of 1974.

Projects/Pieces

Workspheres exhibition

Workspheres: Designing the Workplace of Tomorrow was a MoMA exhibit that inspired our project about the Center for Critical Skills.

Downloads

CCS brochure (PDF, 1.1 MB)	A satirical pamphlet describing the Center for Critical Skills
AFTER THE FACTORY (Word Document, 58 KB)	An article from City Limits magazine on the closing of the Swingline Stapler factory in Long Island City, Queens.

The Center for Critical Skills is also related to
Cybercity Walking Tour