What we offer and what makes us different
Who We AreThe Gleaning Project provides a non-clinical studio space in New York City where individuals navigating hardship come together weekly to work with their hands, build community, and transform discarded materials into art.
We are not an art therapy program, nor do we offer social services. We work in partnership with crisis intervention and clinical care, operating alongside those services as a parallel space where participants can integrate meaningful occupation, genuine connection, and a sense of belonging into their lives. Where clinical care addresses what someone has been through, we hold space for who they are becoming.
Many of our participants are referred to us by partner organizations who recognize a need for this broader container of care. We provide a place to practice being in community again, to rebuild identity through dignified work, and to belong. Together, we create coordinated support across the full spectrum of recovery.
Our StoryUnder-resourced New Yorkers face numerous challenges in overcoming their circumstances. These difficulties often lead to feelings of hopelessness and a lack of self-worth.
Just as trash is deemed useless and discarded, the same judgment is leveled on this population – often treated as though their lives have no value.
In 2019, Noemia began the Gleaning Project as a weekly meeting with a small group of New Yorkers experiencing hardships. As the group created arts and crafts from discarded materials, the project’s vision began to emerge: to be a community organization that uses art as a vehicle for renewal, connects people to each other, and links us all in the care for our home, the Earth.
From that first experience, the project grew, thanks to the help of partner organizations and dedicated supporters. Today, the Gleaning Project runs yearlong cohorts with up to 8 participants, culminating with an art exhibition of the collective’s work.
Noemia Marinho
Meet the Founder of Gleaning Project
Noemia Marinho is a Brazilian self-taught visual artist living and working in the NYC metro area. Her art focuses on transforming discarded materials into pieces that are truthful and evocative.
Noemia’s early life included periods of great scarcity, as her family was poor and was constantly moving around Brazil’s rural interior. This cultivated in her a thrifty mindset, which has found its way into her creative process, as evidenced by the meticulous dismantling and careful use of every last part of the “trash” that makes up her raw material. Growing up as a woman under the thumb of a profoundly sexist culture also left its mark, rooting her techniques not in conventional media but rather in craft elements like crocheting and weaving, as well as homemaking elements such as baking, ironing, and sewing. While far from a widely accepted path into the art world, her personal history has blossomed into an act of resistance - taking the skills gained through a life of unacknowledged service and using them instead as tools for creativity and self-expression.
Noemia’s journey toward discarded materials began when she first encountered the art scene in New York City through frequent visits to the Chelsea galleries with her teenage son, now a visual artist in his own right. Mother and son would return home inspired and begin their experiments. In contrast to her first foray into the arts with watercolor back in Brazil, Noemia now gravitated to truly expendable items (plastic bags, milk cartons, bottles, used tea bags, anything she could get her hands on), which made for much freer exploration. The medium suited her perfectly, especially given her lifelong dislike of following recipes. “You could freely make many mistakes; it was already garbage to begin with,” she reflects on this phase of joyful discovery. Her approach involved constant improvisation and adaptability.
Noemia holds an MA in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.
Meet the Team
Anne Boccato
Anne started as the Communications Manager, translating Noemia’s vision for the Gleaning Project’s website and email newsletter. She has since shifted to an operational role, taking care of the books, logistics, and anything else needed to keep the lights on at the GP.
Operations Manager
Ellen Picataggio
A former hotel owner and operator, current consultant for hospitality and creative/design-based start-ups, Ellen has fully embraced the Gleaning Project. Her contributions range from strategic decision-making to event planning and weekly volunteering in the workshops.
Board Member
Board MemberEva Ting
Eva is a strategic planner and team builder with over two decades of experience in nonprofit programming and arts management. She brings her big-picture thinking and project execution skills to the Gleaning Project’s Board of Directors.
Florence is an experienced curator, researcher, and writer using visual and narrative mediums as my primary interventions for change. She has brought her experience to bear at the Gleaning Project, contributing extensively to the Project’s positioning, communications strategy and development.
Board Member