ArtLab for Teens

The New Season of ArtLab is Here!

The Hirshhorn invites aspiring young artists to transform the Museum's ArtLab into a working studio space. This intensive, five-week program gives talented high school students the opportunity to engage with peers, artists, and curators and to respond to objects from the collection featured in Refract, Reflect, Project by creating original works of art.

Students are invited to apply from local schools, grades 9 through 12. No previous art experience is necessary, and all materials are provided by the Hirshhorn.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY! Applications are due by February 16.

For more on this program, click here.

Week Six: Open Studio

Parents and friends joined us to see the sculptures and participate in our final critique.

Week Six: Installing our Sculptures

Time is up! Students install their final sculptures in the ArtLab for the open studio and final critique.

Week Six: Finishing our Sculptures

Students put the finishing touches on their sculptures.

Week Five: Working on Our Sculptures

With just one week to go, everyone gets to work on their final piece.

Week Four: Studio Visit from Anne Ellegood, curator

"Today we began to create our final sculptures. One of the highlights of the class was when the curator of The Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas, Anne Ellegood, arrived to discuss many aspects of the exhibit and art. She talked about a diverse range of subjects from putting together an exhibition to existential questions in art."
-- Alyssa

"It was really interesting to hear how each piece, artist and "Collection in Context" piece was related. Anne Ellegood, the exhibition curator, also provided inisight into how each piece was chosen, and we learned intimate stories about the idea development and process that factored into the sculptures by each artist. She even critiqued and gave us advice on our own pieces."
--Sofia

Week Four: Materials

Students gather their materials and begin work on their final sculptures:

Week Three: Planning our Sculptures

Erin Root, the ArtLab instructor, responds to an artwork in the sculpture garden with her own work of art. Erin spreads a large sheet of mylar on the grass which reflects both the sky and Alexander Calder's Six Dots over a Mountain, (1956).

Week Three: Planning our Sculptures

Students begin planning their final sculptures, making detailed drawings, lists of materials, and a maquette (a small model or study) for their project. Each student will make a piece that responds to the work they chose in the sculpture garden.

Week Two: Sculpture Garden

Exploring and thinking about the work in the sculpture garden:

Week Two: Sculpture Garden

For the second half of the class we explored the sculpture garden, and each chose a piece we responded to strongly. We made quick sketches of the pieces we chose and began thinking about the sculptures we would create.

Week Two: Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas

"I've never been exposed to contemporary art before, so seeing the exhibition was very eye-opening."
-- Abigail

We had some very interesting discussions about the work in the exhibition, particularly about Rachel Harrison's piece, Cindy, 2004.

Week Two: Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas

This week, we looked at work from the Hirshhorn's new exhibition, The Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas:

"One part that really bothered me was the fact that you could get so close to the pieces."
-- Amanda

Week One: Photos

More photographs from our first class:

Week One: Critical Response Process

October 22, 2006

On three large work tables, bizarre and alternative materials were laid out. All 17 students had one hour to make whatever they wanted with these materials. In Bianca’s sketchbook, she wrote, “It’s liberating to be given such a huge variety of materials without having to plan or design anything beforehand. At first it’s overwhelming, but after some messing around, themes and ideas automatically surface.” Anand wrote about his process: “I did not expect the really hard base to break before the rubber bands snapped, but the separate layers ripped apart where one of the poles was connected.”

When finished, the students undertook an intense, forward-thinking, and mature critique. Being so impressed with their articulation of their own and each others’ work, I opted to continue the critique, forgoing the plans for the remainder of the class. The students also decided how this week’s blog entry should be formatted, and decided they would describe in their sketchbooks their process, their critique, what their classmates said, and what they thought of their own work. Accompanying these articulate descriptions were confident sketches of their work. This week, the class will see the show The Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas. I’m excited to see the connections they make between the show’s pieces and their own work.

--Erin Root, instructor