Teen Lab at the Art Institute of Chicago

On Thursday, March 24th Teen Lab took to the galleries to engage with the general audience through poetry, inquiry, and performance art in their
first Pop-Up experience at the Art Institute. In teams of 2-3, Teen Lab members worked together to find an artwork in the Contemporary gallery in the Modern Wing that they were inspired by to create a “pop up” gallery experience. The teens learned more about each work and used the content behind the works as a springboard for closer engagement and furthered their initial interpretations of what they imagined the work was about. Interacting with close to 200 museum patrons, each engagement showed the general public how performance and activity in the gallery space can
add to the viewing experience. Discussing topics such as racial inequality, feminism, and self worth, the teams created gallery experiences for the general public that were not only insightful and energetic, but relevant to their lives and lived experiences.