NexGen Mint invites students to engage with art and design both online and in galleries
Calling the next generation of museum-goers: Teens are invited to engage with art and design at The Mint Museum in a wide range of new ways with the help of a recently launched initiative, NexGen Mint.
Teens’ lives are centered around home and school – and now, the NexGen Mint’s vision is to offer them a nurturing, creative “third place.” It’s a creative community to exchange ideas, have fun, interact, and learn from artist role models and peers.
Thanks to major grants from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Wells Fargo and additional support from IBM and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts & Science Council, the Mint is rolling out a series of new offerings for students ages 14-18, including:
–A free membership offering teens the opportunity to make unlimited visits to the museum with a guest;
–Exclusive opportunities for teens to interact and foster their creativity with internationally known artists and designers who visit the museum;
–New forms of online interaction via a new website with curated, teen-focused content and dialogue scheduled to launch this spring; and
–Scholarships for 30 teens to attend a free week-long summer art camp.
Following a series of teen focus groups during 2014, public events kicked off with a teen round table with contemporary artist Mel Chin at Mint Museum Uptown in February. Chin, a former Artist-in-Residence at McColl Center for Art + Innovation, introduced the participating teens to his installation SEA to SEE, which he created to analyze human environmental impact on the world’s oceans in conjunction with a recent Mint exhibition examining the centennial of the Panama Canal. And on March 21-22, teens met at Mint Museum Randolph with contemporary Pueblo artist Rose “Bean” Simpson of Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a hands-on roundtable and workshop. Future NexGen events include:
–An April design lab and talks with fashion designers threeASFOUR, whose body-altering creations are a major feature in the Mint’s upcoming Body Embellishment exhibition, which will be on view from April 11 through September 6 at Mint Museum Uptown.
–A May design lab and talks with Dzine (aka Carlos Rolon), an installation artist and painter and author of a photographic history of nail art. His visit is also in conjunction with the Body Embellishment exhibition.
–A June design lab and talks with modern jewelry designer Nora Fok, also featured in Body Embellishment.
Participants can register NOW to receive the free NexGen Mint museum membership and begin receiving invitations to upcoming events. More information is available at mintmuseum.org/visit/nexgenmint.