Teen Lab at the Art Institute of Chicago

Sarai is the Teen Lab Intern and contributes her unique strength, understanding and knowledge to our community. Having participated in the program for five sessions, she's a Teen Lab vet! The following is a recollection of her experience:

The Art Institute of Chicago is a profound establishment located toward the heart of Chicago. It is teeming with numerous counts of canvas covered with the artistry of countless admired figures in the “art world”. While this is all true the Art Institute is so much more meaningful to me.

When I first began After School Matters with the Art Institute I’d never experienced the museum. I’ve always had an eye or an interest in arts, especially visual arts, since a young child. Now that the opportunity presented itself, for myself to get a closer get a closer look, I jumped at it quickly. Entering that museum had completely taken me by surprise; with the pull of one door my life forever changed. The inside of the museum was so large and spacious I hadn’t known where to start. I began to explore, to find its true meaning to me as a visual artist. I found that the museum, with its quiet halls and soft whispering visitors made me more comfortable than before.

I am now a junior in high school and have participated in Teen Lab since the fall of my freshman year of high school. Over the span if the uncountable semesters of Teen Lab. I found it meant more than expected.

Teen Lab changed the way I thought of myself. Not only did I gain a family and close friends ,but an opening to explore new mediums that I otherwise would not know of. The Art Institute Teen Lab also taught me to have confidence in presenting my work/pieces to others. I also gained social and leadership skills for the future. The program and its instructors (role models) basically changed my life for the better. I am learning from my peers things that will be a future for myself. Rather than being another black, female stereotype. I am humbled that the experience is continued with my back to back acceptance. My gratitude is on higher levels than before. Though, sadly I can only attend few more semesters before the end of my senior year. I’ll never forget the wonderful lessons constantly enforced by instructors. The program was just a great outlet for me to connect with visual artists my age and I learn about them as well as myself.