A Museum's 'Disney World' @ Children's Museum of the Arts

On Charlton Street, Museum Teen Summit uncovered a museum's euphoric version of Disney World at the Children's Museum of the Arts. But unlike the princesses and mouse eared characters lining the streets of Florida, New York's 10,000 square foot space in SoHo inspires artistic creativity as showcased in the current exhibition, Art Forms: 75 Years of Art Education.

Looking through the artwork of student and educator 

From June 21 to September 15, "Art Forms examines the relationship between art educator and art student by showcasing three intertwined elements that reveal the lifeblood of CMA's mission and philosophy: current children's artwork by CMA's 2011-2012 public school partnerships, artwork by Teaching Artists, and antique children's artwork from CMA's permanent collection..." Ranging from flying sculptures to intricate drawings, the exhibition exemplifies how students and teachers inspire each other.

Brainstorming!

Invigorated by Art Forms, Museum Teen Summit took our energy to the art studios where we fleshed out ideas, comments, and concerns leading to the big question surrounding our research projects: Why aren't teens in museums?
And once establishing our 'jumping off point', we devised methods that may answer this ambiguous question, which includes concocting a timeline, creating samples, collecting data, and interpreting insights. 

Little by little, we grappled and discovered our various interest points answering the big 'why'; pros and cons surrounding marketing, teen programs and events, education, and visitations factor into teen participation in museums. Individually, we broke down our topics even further as we colorfully devised diagrams.



Now, with our topics firmly set in stone, Museum Teen Summit is ready to commence research! Keep posted on our progress; our results may surprise you!

-- Ramona Venturanza