Summer 2016 TRaC Teens

Hi! I’m Kamile and I am a member of ArtsConnection’s Teen Advisory Council (TAC). We are a group of teens who have previously participated in an ArtsConnection Teen Program. We plan events for fellow teens and help spread the word about exciting opportunities going on at ArtsConnection and beyond in NYC! There are so many ways to get involved in New York City’s amazing art scene through ArtsConnection – you can buy $5 tickets to amazing shows from High 5; attend Pizza and a Movie Night; participate in an after-school program like TRaC (Teen Reviewers and Critics); or have your artwork exhibited with our Student Art Program, and SO MUCH MORE!

What made me eager to join TAC was my experience participating in Summer TRaC: Map Free City. It was early June, and I was in search for something interesting to do in the summer. Something that would let me focus on art, something I had been neglecting spending a lot of time on while studying for my classes. As I went through different programs on websites listing summer activities for teens, I came across Summer TRaC: Map Free City. With a description that suggested the showcase of various arts around the city, I eagerly applied and jumped with joy when I saw that I was accepted.

The first session involved us getting to know each other with slices of pizza, discussions of what makes a great team, and an overview of what we’d be doing in the next few weeks. Although we had already started warming up to one another, it was the trips to see the various art around the boroughs that really brought us together.

We always found something fun and something meaningful in those trips. While we ate pizza and took pictures by the Manhattan skyline on the top floor of the Chase building, we also admired the artworks of Andy Warhol, Martin Wong, and other young influential artists when on the tour of the Pride exhibit. While catching Pokemon on our way, we learned about the New York Young Lords who risked so much trying to protect and help their community. And while we took loads of pictures together and texted in our group chat on the days we didn’t have a meeting, we also saw just how powerful art can be.

I’ve painted since I was two years old. I started on the walls of my house and eventually found my place on canvas. However, since then, I’ve mainly been painting landscapes as a way to de-stress instead of expressing emotion and thought. However, with exhibits such as Blackness in Abstraction and Art AIDS America that I saw through TRaC, I really saw how art could send a message into the world. Every person sees art differently, but that’s how the point is made: art reveals to a person what they really feel and think. Sometimes, when we’re confused, that’s exactly what we need.

If you want to reveal something to yourself from within, find yourself, and want to have a good time with other teens, I encourage you to look at some of ArtsConnection’s awesome programs.

The Spring 2017 TRaC application is now open, as are applications for other amazing programs such as Teens Curate Teens.

CLICK HERE to apply and learn more, and hope to see you around soon!