The Art Institute of Chicago offers a range of programs designed specifically for a teen audience. We strive to create an informal and creative setting for teenagers in the museum. These opportunities offer a chance for teens to come together and actively participate in a dialogue with their peers. In addition, teens become exposed to different careers and expand their appreciation of art.

Art Institute of Chicago

Current Teen Programs :

•  Teen Lab

•  Museology

•  Art and Stories

View Past Teen Programs :

•  Design for Change

•  I AM Culture

Get in free. Purchase a student membership for $50 for free admission, exhibition tickets, a magazine, and discounts in the shop and restaurants.

Get a job - kind of. Volunteer at the museum or do an internship.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Take a class at the School of the Art Institute!

High school

7 th and 8 th grade

Talk about art. Read and contribute to Fzine, an art and writing forum for creative youth.

Teen Lab

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 4:00-7:00pm
Fall Session: October 3-December 7
High School students

HAVE YOU EVER...

•  Met an artist?

•  Wondered What is Art?

•  Wanted to meet other Chicago teens?

•  Wanted to go behind-the-scenes at an art museum?

•  Wondered what a curator does?

Teen Lab takes place at the Art Institute of Chicago and gives teens the opportunity to find out how your own artistic interests intersect with the museum's extensive collection. Over the semester, students meet with museum professionals and working artists who inspire and excite their creativity! Through gallery discussions and studio activities, teens will gain a greater understanding of interpretation and display in a museum setting. The 15 teens involved in the fall session are creating a Teen Guide for their peers to use when they visit the museum.

Check back frequently for updates and look out for the Teen Guide the next time you visit the museum!

For additional information, please contact Ali Hughes in the Department of Museum Education at the Art Institute at 312-857-7142 or ahughes1@artic.edu .

Museology

Wednesdays, 1:30-4:00pm
2006-2007 Session: September 28 - May 10
High School students

Meeting weekly, students from Chicago Public High Schools, are invited to attend the Honors Class in Art History and Museum Studies at The Art Institute of Chicago. Funded by the Chicago Public School Gifted Program, the Museology class meets with two docents, curators and staff. Sessions take place in the galleries and storerooms of the museum, offering participants an insider perspective that makes their weekly experiences unique.

For additional information, please contact Ali Hughes in the Department of Museum Education at the Art Institute at 312-857-7142 or ahughes1@artic.edu.

Art and Stories

Tuesdays, 1:00-3:00pm
2006 - 2007 Session: October 4 - May 22
7th and 8th graders

The Art and Stories class is organized around the various curatorial departments at the Art Institute plus the special exhibitions of the corresponding season in an attempt to give a cultural view of life on this earth.   The selected 7 th and 8 th graders will explore good literature, and take field trips that emphasize the cultural resources of the city of Chicago.

For additional information, please contact Ali Hughes in the Department of Museum Education at the Art Institute at 312-857-7142 or ahughes1@artic.edu .

Design for Change

Thursdays, 4:00-6:30pm
2005 Session: February 10 - May 12
High School students

Inspired by the Art Institute of Chicago's Chicago Architecture: Ten Visions exhibition, the Design for Change program invited high school students from Chicago Public Schools to envision Chicago's architectural future. Students selected by teachers at Clemente, Curie Metropolitan, Jones College Prep, Lake View, and Lane Tech High Schools met at the Art Institute of Chicago every Thursday evening from February 10, 2005 though May 12, 2005.

Throughout the program, students explored the potential for architecture to impact society. They worked with Ten Visions architects Jeanne Gang, Douglas Garofalo, Elva Rubio, Joe Valerio, and Xavier Vendrell and proposed a solution to a problem in their neighborhoods.

The students documented each session with digital photos and text on the Design for Change section of Fzine, an online version of the student-run paper at the School of the Art Institute. Final projects are also displayed on this site.

This program was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

I AM Culture : Youth interpret the Art Institute's Collection

2004-2005

High School students

Focusing upon the dual sites of Amundsen High School and the Art Institute galleries, art education graduate students from the School of the Art Institute together with Amundsen High School teachers developed curriculum, facilitated gallery and classroom learning.

Students used personal histories, multiple historical perspectives, creative writing, and art making to explore new forms of interpretation in order to link the Art Institute's collection to school classroom and literacy curriculum, and to high school students' lives.

Both the Art Institute and Amundsen High School acted as sites of exploration for School of the Art Institute graduate students to develop innovative museum interpretation and educational programming that engaged new youth audiences with the Art Institute's collection.

This program was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation.