Youth Empowerment and Contemporary Art: Where Are We Now?

AbstractIn the 1990s, a handful of arts institutions made an unprecedented effort to engage young people through intensive programming geared directly at adolescent audiences—teen councils and apprenticeships sprouted up across the country and sought to welcome and empower teens within the museum. The Whitney Museum of American Art is currently leading a three-year research project to investigate the long-term impact of these teen programs, in collaboration with the Walker Art Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston. This article traces the development and evolution of these intensive contemporary art museum teen programs, and the defining characteristics and best practices that make these lasting, high-impact experiences for their participants.