Teen Programs
Summer 2025
Art Institute of Chicago
Upcoming Programs
Located in the Ryan Learning Center
Exuberus Teen Night
Thursday, June 12, 5:00pm–10:00pm
Jump-start your summer with Exuberus, the museum’s free annual teen night! Open to and hosted by Chicago high school teens, this celebration features food, teen musical performances, dancing, an open mic to show off your talents, teen-led gallery tours, art making, and more.
Free. Registration is Required.
Teen Summer Hangs
July 17th – 26th | 11:00am-3:00pm Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
Calling all teens! Join us this summer in the Ryan Learning Center’s Teen Room to grab some snacks, make art, and add your favorite songs to our playlist. Hosted by the museum’s After School Matters summer teen interns, this art-making space is created by teens, for teens.
Teen Summer Studio
Select Thursdays, 1:00pm–4:00pm
This program is free but requires registration and museum admission. Museum admission is free to Chicago teens under 18 and all children under 14.
Explore the museum, make art, eat snacks, and hang out with fellow teen creatives! Register for the Thursday workshops for a deep-dive into a different medium each week. New and returning teens are encouraged to drop-in the following Friday and Saturday during Open Studio hours to continue their exploration or try something new. All supplies and materials included. No experience necessary.
Teen Open Studio
Ryan Learning Center | Select Fridays and Saturdays
Just for teens, these drop-in open studios offer art-making activities inspired by a different exhibition each week. Join us to express yourself through a variety of media and techniques. All materials will be provided, and no experience is necessary.
Drop in Making: Epic Worlds
Thursday–Saturday, July 17–19 and July 24–26, 1:00pm–3:00pm
No registration required. This program includes a visit to the galleries, and museum admission is required. Museum admission is free to Chicago teens under 18 and all children under 14.
Get inspired, make art, and build community! Experience the Raqib Shaw art installation/exhibition with a surprise art-making activity designed and led by our After School Matters (ASM) summer teen interns. Visitors of all ages are welcome; no experience is required.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art
Programs
Teen Creative Agency
The Teen Creative Agency (TCA) is the Museum of Contemporary Art’s cultural leadership program for teens age 15–19 years old. TCA members come together from all over the Chicago area to the museum once a week, from September through June.
At the MCA, teens not only view but also engage with contemporary art and artists. The MCA makes museum resources accessible to youth so that they may dream, plan, and create responses to the issues that are important to them.
When TCA members meet weekly, they create a space in the museum for teens’ ideas and perspectives to be seen and heard. They visit other cultural institutions, engaging with both peers and professionals in the field. Young people learn to recognize the value of others and the value they themselves bring to a community.
This growth in their agency and collaboration skills, as well as knowledge of public engagement and strengthening of the creative process, occurs under the guidance of the program’s Lead Artists: Olive Stefanski and Miguel Limon
To Learn More, Please Contact:
Ahmad Bracey, Manager of Learning: Schools and Youth Communities: abracey@mcachicago.org or call 312-397-4020
National Museum of Mexican Art
National Museum of Mexican Art
Yollocalli Arts Reach
yo∙llo∙call∙i (yō-lō-KÄ-lee) : from the Aztec language, Nahuatl : yolotl (heart) + kalli (house)
Yollocalli Arts Reach is the award-winning youth initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art, we offer FREE arts and culture programming to teens and young adults.
Located in the heart of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, we serve as an open community center with studio spaces, a computer lab, radio production studio, a large art library, and a creative, supportive staff who are always around to help, encourage, and inspire. We aim to strengthen the students’ creative and cultural capital by engaging them with their own cultural discourses through art making.
Every program and special event offered by Yollocalli is free of charge; This is only possible with help from you.
