Teens spent summer at MoMA

Some local Queens teens spent their summer learning more about the world of art through “In the Making: Summer at MoMA.”
During the six-week-long summer program, participants were enrolled in one of five classes. They were “Under Construction: The Art of Architecture,” “Ideas, Inventions and Solutions: Design in Action,” “From Scene to Screen: Film & Video in Focus,” “Art in Multiple: Exploring Printmaking,” and “On the Edge: Experiments in Contemporary Art.”
This year, out of approximately 145 applicants, about 75 students from all five boroughs took part in “In the Making: Summer at MoMA.” The students, who represented about 43 different schools, are either entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade. They were selected following submitting short applications and a recommendation from a teacher or mentor.
The program included meeting with MoMA curators, behind-the-scenes tours of the collection, speaking with participating artists, visiting culture resources and artists’ studios and doing their own studio work. Their work was then presented in an exhibition at the conclusion of the six weeks.
Marit Dewhurst, MoMA’s Associate Educator for High School Programs, said that the main focus of the summer program is “exposing them to different opportunities in the arts, the different ways they can be involved. Another part is getting to see their potential as artists as people who can contribute in a creative way.”
Jackson Heights resident Johanna Santana, who is going into 11th grade at the High School of Arts and technology, found out about the program through a guidance counselor who encouraged her to go to MoMA’s website to find out more about it. She said she wanted to participate in “In the Making: Summer at MoMA” because she likes art and chose the contemporary art class because she said it had the most freedom and that they did a little bit of everything in the class.
“I liked the whole thing. That was the highlight of my summer - doing this program,” Santana said. “I really looked forward to this.”
Santana said that she enjoyed being able to meet with different artists and go different places. Through her participation, she said that the most important thing she learned was to do something based on your own feelings on not because of what someone else might think.
Dewhurst said that the biggest change she saw in the students was the way in which they carried themselves. Describing them as having a “deer in the headlights” look when they first came, she said that throughout the summer they gained confidence.
For more information on “In the Making: Summer at MoMA” or to find out about their other programs, visit restudion.moma.org/programs.