CUE TEEN COLLECTIVE:
ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Applications for the 2023-24 CTC program closed on September 24, 2023
and will reopen for the following year in Summer 2024.

ABOUT CUE TEEN COLLECTIVE

CUE Teen Collective (CTC) is a free, year-long after-school program for high school students who are passionate about visual culture and interested in exploring careers in the arts. Through the program, students investigate various aspects of the contemporary art world, develop and refine their artmaking and critical thinking skills, and conceptualize and create artwork for a final group exhibition presented at CUE’s gallery space. CTC offers behind-the-scenes access to the New York art world, demystifying career paths in the arts while inspiring students to develop their own personal artistic voices. The program consists of talks with artists and curators, trips to gallery and museum shows, visits to art fairs, hands-on studio sessions, and more. Participants have the opportunity to learn from working arts professionals and build sustainable and rewarding careers of their own in the arts.

Additionally, participants will form a community with their peers over the course of the academic year, sharing their work with each other and exchanging meaningful feedback on artistic concepts, techniques, and processes as they work together to develop and refine their artistic practices. At the culmination of the program, students present original artwork as part of a group show, for which they collectively decide upon the theme and content. Students also learn how to communicate their work through the development of visual and written materials for the final exhibition, including curatorial statements, artist statements, and artist biographies.Through this process, students learn how to envision, produce, install, and communicate an art exhibition in the same manner as working artists, organizations, and galleries all over the world.

COST
CUE Teen Collective is free and open to all students who are eligible. There are no costs associated with participation. Students will be provided with materials budgets for the production of their artwork during the Winter/Spring session, and MTA metrocards can be requested by those in need of support for travel.

GUEST SPEAKERS AND FIELD TRIPS
The CTC program includes an active field trip schedule to cultural institutions, art exhibitions, artists' studios, and art production sites across New York City. Participants also meet with guest speakers, including visiting artists, art historians, art critics, curators, and conservators, who offer advice on pursuing various careers in the arts and lead workshops for expanding and strengthening artistic skills. Over the past few years, CTC has taken field trips to and hosted guest speakers from the following venues and institutions, among others:

Armory Fair (Chelsea)
Brooklyn Museum (Prospect Heights)
Center for Book Arts (Chelsea)
Drawing Center (SoHo)
Future Fair (Chelsea)
Galleries in Chelsea and the Lower East Side
International Studio & Curatorial Program (East Williamsburg)
MoMA Conservation Studio (Midtown)

PROGRAM AND APPLICATION

Applications for the 2023-24 CUE Teen Collective closed on September 24, 2023.

Applications for the next season of CTC will open in Summer 2024. The program runs from October to June. Classes meet once a week on Tuesdays for two hours, with some weeks off for holidays and school breaks. Check back for more information on the schedule, eligibility, and how to apply.

CTC Educator

Amanda Adams-Louis, CTC Lead Educator
Amanda Adams-Louis (she/her) is a photographer, teaching artist, and education consultant. A third culture kid, she was born in the U.S. and raised between Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Her education practice and pedagogy are influenced by her experiences living, learning, and traveling abroad. In 2017, Amanda founded CUE Art Foundation’s education program, CUE Teen Collective (CTC). Amanda drew on her time as a student at The American School in Switzerland when she designed the Fall Session of CTC as a series of field trips to galleries, studios, and cultural institutions to meet creative professionals in the art world.

She has taught, developed, and implemented arts education workshops and programs for young people ages 10-25 with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Casita Maria Center for Art Education, Creative Artworks, Eagle Academy for Young Men (Bronx), Educational Video Center, The Met, the Museum of Arts and Design, NYC Department of Transportation, United Photo Industries, Urban Arts Partnership, Queens Arts Council, and YWCA. Amanda earned a BFA in Photography from Pratt Institute and is a Studio Art alumna of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. She is a member of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable’s Teaching Artist Affairs Committee and serves on CUE’s board of directors. Her website is www.lafotographeuse.com.

PAST CTC EXHIBITIONS

PAST CATALOGUES

Browse catalogues from past CTC exhibitions here and below.