Engage! Teens, Art & Civic Participation: An Introduction

The Engage! Teens, Art & Civic Participation webinar series will introduce a program model that targets young adults, using visual art as a springboard to civic engagement. Originally piloted in ten Illinois libraries in 2010, Engage! Teens, Art & Civic Participation is an activity — and discussion-based program model featuring a selection of curated and compelling images of American art.

During these three free webinars, participants will:

• Hear from librarians who participated in the Engage! pilot program, who will share what worked and what didn’lt with teens.
• Be introduced to a free PDF guide to the Engage! model, featuring detailed instructions on how to get started.
• Learn how to formulate effective “looking questions” that will elicit participation and engagement with art and thematic content.
• Learn how to select images that will illuminate relevant civic participation issues for teen discussion and learning.

Please be sure to register for all three sessions. This project was inspired by the National Endowment for the Humanities’l Picturing America project. Funding for Engage! is provided by the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust and from the Terra Foundation for American Art.

In this first session, learn more about this program model for young adults that uses visual art as a springboard to civic engagement. Two librarians who participated in the pilot project—Marcus Lumpkin, Youmedia, Chicago Public Library; and Tom Spicer, Arlington Heights (Ill.) Memorial Library—shared their programs and how they can be adapted for other libraries; in addition, a free project resource guide was debuted during this webinar.