Dear NYC Art Museums,
There are many museums that have attempted to reach out to children and while there is a way that these platforms have helped and encouraged more families to come teens are still a less than welcomed group. Many have turned off younger audiences, middle school and high school age, in a number of ways. Hours are often difficult for students if they need parent transportation, and even to manage with after school events. Students should get more opportunities to see this art if there was a later opportunity. There is also a component of analyzing and comprehending that isn’t taught in schools, so teens go to art museums and walk past amazing works without a second thought. And there is an additional stigma against some students where older attendants might see them as disruptions.
As a young child, I was taken to many art museums. Whereas a young kid I was told to be quiet, and take notes, not to run and not to laugh. I could read the blurbs but didn’t get what they were saying and other adults looked at me funny as I was taken or went to those museums with my friends. Teenagers are often seen as terrors or dangerous, but believe it or not many high school students opting to go to a museum in their free time are not there to wreak havoc.
I propose night events that reach out to teens high school students mainly. Once a month on Friday nights during the school year. Where they can browse the museums but there is a portion to have some kind of discussion or media presentation they could watch. Adding a discussion or analytical level has increased my own appreciation for art and could do wonders for many teens. Having a talk about something they see adds more depth to a two-dimensional piece. I also propose a food component because all kids are drawn by food. Fridays are a great time where young people don’t have school the next morning and often are looking for fun things to go out and do.
A young interest in art provides for a lifetime of more passionate interest in arts and culture generally. With that, there is a more expansive and more intellectual human joining the adult world one day. Making hours longer, and giving more information that is more digestible teaches kids to get into art in a more transitional and applicative way. The mind of a high school student is impressionable and waiting on the right people to imprint on it. The art museums of New York city should jump at this opportunity to do so.
