MUSEUM TEEN EDUCATORS PEER LEARNING COMMUNITY, 2021-2023
WALKER ART CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS
In 2021 I was invited by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to participate in a Peer Learning Community with museum teen educators from across the United States. The program was led by the Walker’s then-Director and Curator of Education and Public Programs, Nisa Mackie; Walker Teen Programs Convenor, Simona Zappas and academic Dr Yolanda Majors.
Other educators came from institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, MCA Chicago, ICA Boston, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Seattle Art Museum and Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, amongst others.
Some of the goals of the PLC included:
Build stronger working relationships across art museum teen programs educators/staff
Deepen peer-to-peer learning and problems solving in the administration, design and facilitation of art museum teen programs
Connect art museums across the country to the Walker’s recent research in developing a systems learning design that incorporates social justice, art, and critical thinking
Facilitate input and sharing of best practices for a teen programs toolkit to be published in 2022/23
The PLC ran for six months with online zoom sessions every three weeks and sessions included presentations, discussions, readings, applied activities and reflections.
One of the outcomes from the PLC has been the publication (2023) of the Museum Teen Program How-To Kit. It is a comprehensive book of essays, activities and reflections that look at complex pedagogies, social justice, group dynamics, teen subcultures and institutional complexities.
This free publication is available to download from the Walker Art Center website here.
