Pop-up dragons and teens. Photo by Filip Wolak
«Most Friday evenings Watson and Nolen Libraries bid farewell to visitors and staff, turn out the lights, and lock the doors. But sometimes there are good reasons to stay late, as there were on October 16, 2015, when there were over four thousand (teenaged) reasons to keep our doors open.»
A Teens Take the Met participant writes on the windows of Nolen Library. Photo by Filip Wolak
The third installment of the Museum-wide all-teen celebration, Teens Take the Met, welcomed teens from across all five boroughs to experience the Met in a whole new way. In collaboration with over forty New York City cultural partners, teens were invited to engage with art, art making, and each other at activity stations throughout the Museum. Over the course of the event's three hours, Nolen Library (aka the "Loud Library") was a hot destination with music blasting and a range of fun activities.
Teens stream into Nolen Library's upper and lower levels. Photos by Leah High
There is clearly something irresistible about being invited to write or draw on a huge visible "canvas," because window graffiti was the most popular activity in the library. Using special washable window markers, the students covered every imaginable inch with pictures, names, and social media handles.
More teens draw on the Nolen Library windows. Photo by Filip Wolak
Community partners Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Library hosted teens in the Teacher Resource Room, where they created their own "black-out poetry" and other creative works with pages from old books. By blacking out selected words or phrases, new creations emerged.
Teens get poetic in the Teacher Resource Room. Photos by Leah High
In the Children's Reading Room, teens gathered around the kiddie tables to play "old school" games like Jenga and Connect Four.
Teens concentrate on a game of Jenga. Photo by Leah High
For those not interested in poetry, games, or graffiti, there were, of course, books. Some browsed the graphic novels while others read at tables and charged their phones.
A group of teens chat and read in Nolen Library. Photo by Filip Wolak
We can safely assert that this event set the record for number of teens (nay, people) in the library in one day. It was a frenzy at times, but always fun.
Left: Event volunteers, who helped everything run smoothly. Right: A clicker shows Nolen Library's final door count. Photos by Leah High
Nolen wasn't the only "Loud Library" this MetFriday: Watson Library turned up the volume and the fun. We played music in the Reading Room and let the teens take over.
Teens working on their zine designs. Getting the folding down just right took some practice. Photo by Jared Ash
Paul John and Anthony Tino of Endless Editions set up a risograph printing machine and helped the teens make their own zines. These homemade zines were printed in either black or hot pink in editions of fourteen, and it was inspiring to see how creative everyone got with their zine designs.
Thank you so much to all the teens who left one of their zines behind for our new collection! Photo by Jared Ash
The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) set up in the back of the Reading Room and discussed the cross-cultural symbolism of dragons, and teens created their own dragon postcards. Their inspiring display included two dragon pop-up books from Nolen Library.
Dragons and zines, together at last. Photo by Jared Ash
These photographs give an idea of how crowded the libraries were, but what they don't capture is the animated and festive feeling the teens' presence brought to the libraries. Music was playing, creativity was flowing, and the library was filled with laughter and energy. It was a fun and rewarding evening for the library staff involved, and we look forward to hosting more public programming in Watson and Nolen Libraries.
Teens plan their zine designs in Watson Library with help of Endless Editions's Anthony Tino. Photo by Filip Wolak
Related Links
In Circulation: "It's Party Time . . . Excellent!" (October 21, 2015)
In Circulation: "¡Noche en el Met! ¡Noche en Watson Library!" (October 7, 2015)
#MetKids Blog: "#MetKids Know How to Party!" (September 30, 2015)