teens

SAM's Teen Scene

Hey artists, thinkers, and innovators! Itching to make art, express yourself, take over the museum? SAM’s teen scene is packed with creative minds and contagious energy.

Get involved and make new friends, create art, plan events, and ask questions about the world we live in. Get a little loud, a little messy. Let your voice be heard.

Connect with SAM Teens

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Support provided by:

The Seatte Office of Arts & Culture

Grousemont Foundation

art lab

Come to a series of art workshops for teens on select first Thursdays of the month at the Seattle Art Museum (4 – 7 pm). Stop by to learn, invent and make. We bring the supplies and snacks, you bring the creativity.

Bring a friend and get making!

Art Labs are designed for high school–aged young people to delve into the creative process with artists, designers, and cultural producers. Participants work one-on-one with local artists on 2-D, 3-D, and digital projects. Every art lab begins with a tour of SAM’s collections and special exhibitions. Then channel your artistic genius to create your own work with the guidance of an artist and the provided art-making materials.

Teen Workshops

Teens have created activist silkscreen prints, staged photo shoots, embarked on sketching tours of downtown Seattle and SAM’s galleries, learned to figure draw from live models, and much, much more.

COMING UP

Feb 5
Art Lab

Mar 7
Art Lab

Mar 14
Art Lab

Apr 2
Art Lab

Design Your 'Hood

Teens, take control of your world! Get the tools you need to communicate your ideas about the spaces you live and learn in.

Design Your [Neighbor]hood is a multi-session intensive workshop focused on visual art, design (in the broadest sense), and community change. In this experience-based program, you'll go on site visits to businesses and organizations that create designs and make decisions that pervade our everyday experiences. These behind-the-scenes opportunities inspire you to think beyond high school and expose you to careers in art, architecture, design, fashion, urban planning, and social activism. You'll also develop a studio practice where you'll acquire the skills needed to articulate your process and design three-dimensional models that communicate your ideas.

Previous projects include partnerships with Arts and Academics Academy where students redesigned the school’s computer lab and hallway, and a partnership with Seattle’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, where the young designers worked in teams to propose three teen-friendly concepts for the Seattle Waterfront.

BLOG

For updates on Design Your Hood, check out the blog.

View Blog

TEEN ARTS GROUP (TAG)

TAG is an intensive program for high school–aged youth who are interested in leadership, are highly opinionated, want to learn about themselves and the world through art, and want to make SAM fun and engaging for teens. Participants receive community-service learning credit.

TAG plans all aspects of Teen Night Out, from selecting performers and art activities to leading special tours and organizing screenings and gallery talks.

TEEN NIGHT OUT

Planned for teens by teens! These not-to-be-missed evenings include some of Seattle’s hottest DJs, teen art tours, live music performances, workshops, and art-making activities led by Seattle’s celebrated contemporary artists. FREE!

Teen Night Out has featured performances by notable local artists like Sol, Blue Scholars, TheeSatisfaction, Rain City Rock Camp for Girls, and Katie Kate; partnerships with local teen groups like Youth Speaks, Youth Advisory Board, and Youth in Focus; and numerous opportunities for creativity from learning how to play a Peruvian box drum to creating jewelry, zines, and musical self-portraits!

Don’t miss out on highly opinionated and creative My Favorite Things tours of SAM’s collections and special exhibitions. Guaranteed to inspire, these special tours are designed and led by members of SAM’s Teen Arts Group.

TEEN RESOURCES

First Thursdays

On the first Thursday of every month high school–aged youth get free entrance to the entire museum including the special exhibitions. Just show your student ID. Make sure to check the calendar for teen-only drop-in art activities and workshops on select First Thursdays.

Teen Tix

SAM partners with Teen Tix, a FREE arts-access pass that allows teenagers entrance to the museum for just $5. To get your pass, sign up here.

Transportation

Interested in attending Teen Night Out or a Teen Workshop with your class, after-school program, or community center? SAM can charter a bus or van to take you and your group to and from the event. For more information, please email us.