TAG member Orly (center) participating in one of the Museum's many teen programs, the 2010 summer intensive Art and Film: A Hands-on Digital Filmmaking Workshop
«The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Teen Advisory Group, or TAG, is comprised of fourteen teenagers from all over New York City who love learning about art and spending time in museums. Every month, the group meets with Museum staff to discuss ways to make the Metropolitan a welcoming and exciting place for teens.» As this year's Kress Interpretive Fellow in the Education and European Paintings departments, I have the privilege of working with the Teen Advisory Group as they conceive and implement ways to increase teen involvement with the Museum.
One of the Teen Advisory Group's ideas was to start a blog in which they could communicate with other teens, share ideas about works of art in the Met's collection, and relay updates about the Museum's teen programs. We are excited to present our new blog, TAG Speaks! An Art Blog by Teens for Teens. In the coming weeks, Teen Advisory Group members will post their reflections, pose questions, and connect works at the Museum with their own lives, starting with portraits in the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini.
Each of the TAG members has chosen a portrait of a teen or young adult from the exhibition to explore how his or her experience compares with those of teens who lived over five hundred years ago. As the group started this adventure with their chosen portraits, they asked themselves: What can we learn from studying art from the past? Next week, one of our TAG members, Kristen, will share why she thinks studying art is well worth it, and what we can learn from the process.
Get to know the authors of this blog by viewing a slideshow of their self-portraits, and be sure to check back next week for our first teen-written post.
Related Links
Teen Pass for High School Students (Ages 15–18) (PDF): Enjoy free Museum admission when you present this pass and a valid high school ID at Museum admission desks.
Slideshow of Teen Advisory Group self-portraits