TeenCo Lab
Check back for updates on the 2023-2024 academic year or email Teenprograms [at] clevelandart.org with questions.
What is TeenCo Lab?
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s new teen program welcomes students from various Cleveland high schools to become a part of the museum team. Teens engage in weekly activities that invite them to explore the museum world, building skills in teamwork, planning, writing, research, design, leadership, creative problem-solving, and communication.
This year, members of TeenCo Lab will learn about visual literacy, object-based learning, and community engagement. The experience will culminate with a collaborative teen zine, museum audio tour, and a family play day event. Along the way teens will meet museum staff from across the CMA, talk to local artists and creatives, and will go on a group field trip to local Cleveland arts organizations with the other CMA teen groups. Meetings take place on-site at the CMA.
Program participants will receive:
- Access to CMA staff and local artists
- Published copy of the final zine project
- Hands-on art making experiences with CMA's studio programs staff
- Other supplies and materials as needed
Who participates in TeenCo Lab?
To qualify for the program, applicants must be high school students in grades 9 through 12 at the start of the program. We encourage teens with diverse educational and personal interests to apply. There are no pre-requisites required, including no previous art history or visual art experience necessary. Teens will use creative and critical thinking skills to work with artists, museum staff, and other teens to learn about museum practices and the diverse cultures and lived experiences embedded within them. We urge teens to always ask, “Why?” as we dive deep into important social issues and topics of today, using the CMA’s collection and living artists as models for creativity and change.
*To help ensure the safety of its visitors, volunteers, and staff, the Cleveland Museum of Art requires that all teen program participants be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and provide proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status before the program start date.
TeenCo Lab is a component of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Diversity Leadership Initiative.
In partnership with the Cleveland Foundation and the Cleveland Public Library.
All education programs at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Education. Major annual support is provided by Brenda and Marshall Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Walter E. Fortney, Florence Kahane Goodman, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, and the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, the M. E. and F. J. Callahan Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., Char and Chuck Fowler, the Giant Eagle Foundation, the Lloyd D. Hunter Memorial Fund, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Logsdon Family Fund for Education, Mandi Rickelman, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, the Sally and Larry Sears Fund for Education Endowment, Roy Smith, the Trilling Family Foundation, and the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art.