I Was a Teenage Art Curator

Audrey Banks received more than 700 submissions from about 300 artists after putting out a request for submissions from artists ages 12 to 19. She put out the word through her Facebook event page, had high school students around the city post fliers, and contacted art teachers and youth programs at museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum.

— NY Times: “An Exhibition Whose Curator Is 17”

Banks was an intern at No Longer Empty, an organization that “takes empty lots, storefronts waiting to be rented out, and temporarily turns them into art galleries.” NLE Curatorial Lab ("NLE Lab") has a 12 week program that guides participants through six distinct phases:

1) Fundamentals of curating;

2) Historical and community based research;

3) Development of exhibition themes and selection of artists;

4) Creation and installation of the exhibition with all the supplementary materials;

5) Running the exhibition and public programming and

6) Evaluation and impact assessment.

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NURTUREart is dedicated to nurturing new contemporary art by providing exhibition opportunities and resources for emerging artists, curators and public school students. Check out their Flicker Photostream and PDF exhibition catalog.

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The Young Curators of the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey offers an intensive 7 month excursion for high school juniors and seniors into the business of curating. Each participant took an in-depth look at one work of art.

John Baldessari (b. 1931)
"Two Unfinished Letters," 1992-3
Photolithograph
Ed. 60/80
Sheet: 31 ½ x 21 in.
33 ¾ x 23 ¼ x ½ in.
Gift of Beth and George Meredith
2005.23.1

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Curate This! is a student project directed by Sabatini Gallery associate curator, Betsy Roe at the Topeka Public Libary, for selected, area high school youth.

Students work with a curator to choose artwork from the Library’s permanent collection for exhibition in the front gallery (Hirschberg Gallery). They are also asked to create the text panels, write curator’s statements and work with our Communications & Marketing department on various marketing elements.

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The Urbano Project's Young Curators respond to a theme while working with staff to produce exhibitions and events in Boston.

Interactive media artist Alison Kotin and performance artist Risa Horn worked with students to explore their Boston neighborhoods, considering physical, social, and cultural boundaries between communities. Why do we only visit certain neighborhoods and never go to others? What does the city look like from the point of view of a visitor? What do you love or hate about your own neighborhood? Where do you feel safe? As we travel to many sites throughout the city, we are working collaboratively to create a large art installation, live performance projects, and a web-based interactive project.

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The Art Institute of Chicago's Curate IT offers students the chance to create their own exhibitions via the Digital Youth Network. Mary Erbach, Assistant Director, Interpretive Exhibitions and Family Programs, Art Institute of Chicago

How to Write A Label, Curation by the Art Institute of Chicago, Teen Programs.