CAM Teen Council Members review maps in the CAM Library & Archives with Trenton Carls, Head Librarian & Archivist. Pictured from left to right are Ethan Wood of Essex, Olivia Gado of Manchester, Trenton Carls, Eleyna Bayer, Chandra Lavery, and Sophia Zerilli.
The Cape Ann Museum Teen Council was started in 2021 to deepen the Museum's relationship with the community by providing paid opportunities for local teens. Now entering its second year, the Teen Council is currently accepting applications until Friday, May 20 from students between 14-19 years old.
Each year, a new summer cohort of Teen Council members learn about the behind-the-scenes operations of the Museum, meet key staff and board members, and help design programs and installations to engage their peers at the Museum. The goal of the Teen Council is best captured by the one of the teens themselves: “This program showed me for the first time that I had a voice that can impact my community.”
In an anonymous survey, a council member shared that “As a member on the council, I have felt the direct impact of our work on the museum. Getting to meet with staff members and leaders at the museum was an amazing experience and it was clear that they valued our input and ideas that we had.”
After successfully launching the CAM Teen Council in 2021 with five students, the Cape Ann Museum is expanding the program through seven additional paid internship opportunities this summer. Once accepted, these students will be a part of the CAM Teen Council starting in June 2022 and continuing throughout the school year.
“This program has given me more opportunities to help teens have an influence in a museum setting and to be seen and heard. We have created a series of "teen nights" for teens to come and interact with the museum and its current exhibits and provide materials to do an arts project. Before the council, I feel like there wasn't a lot of emphasis on involving teens but through our group, we have made the museum a more engaging place for people our age,” reports another council member from the survey.
The Teen Council will meet on Wednesdays from 12 noon - 5 p.m. between June 22 and August 24, 2022 and every first and third Saturday from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. during the 2022-2023 school year. Teen Council Members will be paid $15 per hour. Applicants from all backgrounds and cultures are encouraged to apply.
Applications are available at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/programs/teenartscouncil/ in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The deadline to apply has been extended until Friday, May 20. For more information, email education@capeannmuseum.org or call 978-283-0455.
