Youth Insights at ICA Boston
Oct 30, 2011

From August 9-13, two teen participants in the Whitney's Youth Insights program, Sarah and Rebecca (that’s me) attended the National Convening for Teens in the Arts hosted by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA). Every year, ICA/Boston hosts this special conference which brings together teens and educators from nine cultural institutions to talk about the challenges that teen programs face and the benefits they provide.

Our schedules were planned to the minute, our hotel rooms mapped out strategically. Still, the next few days felt like they would be a mystery forever. We had been preparing for so long-writing our presentations, participating in the preliminary online chats, and looking at Google map’s street view of the area around our hotel, it seemed like we might not actually arrive!

Everyone gathered the first night and ate traditional German food. Afterward, we began exploring a city that was new to all of us. This would become a routine over the next few days for both teens and educators. The following day, we began with presentations. Each group was comprised of two teens and an educator representing one of the nine institutions. During the presentations, teens and educators shared images, videos, and experiences of their programs. I watched as four museums went before us, mentally preparing for what I would say. Sarah started the presentation smoothly and I followed suit. I later received a compliment from the ICA’s Artist in Residence, Dario Robleto, who told us we had done a good job! The day ended with Teen Night, an event featuring tours, art activities, performances, videos, and artwork, all of which was created or led by teens from the Boston area. During the chaos of events, I snuck away with two friends to play records at one of the interactive portions of an exhibition that was on view, The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl.

The actual conference consisted of four topics: advocacy, skills, experimentation, and challenging subject matter. Teens and educators from around the country shared personal testimonies and discussed possible solutions to problems faced by museum programs for teens. The formality was spliced with a workshop led by Robleto. During the workshop we made record sleeves for imaginary albums, inspired by Robleto’s own work and The Record exhibition.

Our final day started with a dim sum breakfast worthy of heroes. Plates came and went so fast I couldn’t even keep up. Sarah, my vegetarian guardian, made sure everything was safe for me to eat. The afternoon wrapped up with a tour of Boston and a communal ice cream sandwich fest. Pictures were taken in both silly and serious forms, emails exchanged, and everyone went their separate ways.

Since the conference, I’ve remained friends with other participants. I know slang from the Midwest and the South, and I appreciate New York City’s subway system more than ever. I’m honored to have been a participant in the Third National Convening for Teens in the Arts. I guess there’s only one thing left to say: thanks ICA!

by Rebecca