Origin

(Left to right: 2001 MOCA Teens, Avigail Moss and Nick Doyle in the boardroom presenting the outline of their final project)

English

Since its inception, the MOCA Teens program has followed its motto, “For Teens, By Teens.” Before the program, the Museum of Contemporary Art had an outreach program called First Visit & Beyond, designed to introduce new and diverse audiences to MOCA through visiting schools and organizations to lead workshops. A group of students at Belmont High School did not want their relationship with the institution to end after the eight weeks, and, with the assistance of MOCA educators, they initiated a pilot teen program: MOCA Mentors. In the Fall of 1992, the original seven students from Belmont High School and Jefferson High School began to meet every Sunday evening at the museum.

“Their original intention [for the program] was to use art as a tool to connect with young people through creating a program, not necessarily to create a factory of artists, but through [providing an opportunity of exploring the arts].” - Fabrizio Flores (MOCA Teens ‘93)

The program has since been renamed to MOCA Teens and has expanded its cohort, each year welcoming up to eighteen students from different backgrounds across Greater Los Angeles. Teens have had the opportunity to collaborate on projects with artists. Past artists include Pepon Osorio, Gronk, Todd Gray, Marnie Weber, and iris yirei hu. Teen Night, the program’s most iconic yearly nightly event for teens by teens, did not exist until ten years after the program’s establishment when twelve students challenged themselves in creating an event that can excitedly bring teens to the museum. On the night of April 12, 2003, teens crowded MOCA Grand Avenue in attendance for Synergy. Through the program, teens get the chance to explore their position in the arts.

“MOCA opened the possibility that there are living artists currently making art at this moment, and they were like, ‘They want to go meet them. Like, yeah, let's do it.’ So it really just blew up my preconceived notion of what art is and what it could be.” - John Ildefonso (MOCA Teens ‘94)

Español

Desde su creación, el programa MOCA Teens ha seguido su lema «»Para adolescentes, por adolescentes«». Antes del programa, el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo contaba con un programa de divulgación llamado First Visit & Beyond (Primera visita y más allá) diseñado para presentar el MOCA a públicos nuevos y diversos mediante visitas a colegios y organizaciones para impartir talleres. Un grupo de estudiantes del Belmont High School no quería que su relación con la institución terminara después de las ocho semanas y, con la ayuda de educadores del MOCA, iniciaron un programa piloto para adolescentes: Mentores del MOCA. En otoño de 1992, los siete estudiantes originales de Belmont High School y Jefferson High School empezaron a reunirse todos los domingos por la tarde en el museo.

«Su intención original [para el programa] era utilizar el arte como herramienta para conectar con los jóvenes a través de la creación de un programa, no necesariamente para crear una fábrica de artistas, sino a través de [proporcionar una oportunidad de explorar las artes]». - Fabrizio Flores (MOCA Teens '93)

Desde entonces, el programa ha pasado a llamarse MOCA Teens y ha ampliado su grupo, acogiendo cada año hasta dieciocho estudiantes de distintas procedencias de Los Ángeles. Los adolescentes han tenido la oportunidad de colaborar en proyectos con artistas. Entre ellos se encuentran Pepón Osorio, Gronk, Todd Gray, Marnie Weber e iris yirei hu. La Noche de los Adolescentes, el evento nocturno anual más emblemático del programa, de adolescentes para adolescentes, no existió hasta diez años después de la creación del programa, cuando doce estudiantes se retaron a sí mismos a crear un evento capaz de atraer con entusiasmo a los adolescentes al museo. La noche del 12 de abril de 2003, los adolescentes abarrotaron el MOCA Grand Avenue para asistir a Synergy. A través del programa, los adolescentes tienen la oportunidad de explorar su lugar en las artes.

«El MOCA les abrió la posibilidad de que hay artistas vivos haciendo arte en este momento, y dijeron: “Quieren ir a conocerlos”. Sí, hagámoslo'. Así que hizo saltar por los aires mi idea preconcebida de lo que es el arte y de lo que podría ser». - John Ildefonso (MOCA Teens '94)

(2003 MOCA Teens cohort’s visit to the Getty. Left to Right, top to bottom: Aaron Mills, Daniel Flores, Alondra Rodriguez, Rachel West, Jessica Hernandez, Melissa Little,  Brandon Rosenbluth, Alivia Zappas, Sam Graham, Jia Gu, Lauren Ino.)

Projects of the Past

  • MOCA Teens in Gronk's studio in 2000

    Y2Gronk

    As part of an artist residency at MOCA in 1999, Gronk created a project, Y2Gronk, that included a series of painting and poetry workshops and creating a collaborative mural. The 2000 MOCA Teens cohort assisted with the mural and the culmination of the project through performance and leading a panel.

  • City of the Future

    The 2002 MOCA Teens cohort collaborated with artist Todd Gray to create models of a futuristic Los Angeles, considering how different communities will face a dystopian and utopian future.

  • Walls with Permission

    The teens of 2003 and former MOCA Teens alumni, MIDZT (Andy Rios), organized a temporary outdoor installation at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA with graffiti sprayed-painted by the public.

  • The House Project

    In conjunction to a previous MOCA education program, Public + Artist, the MOCA Teens of 1994 assisted four artists (Faith Wilding, Kim Abeles, Ernesto Pujol, and Beth Bachenheim) in creating a collaborative installation that focused on the domestic lives of different people and the immediate community the project was held in.

  • Photo by Paula Goldman

“Origins” was organized by Sabrina Mendoza (MOCA Teens ‘22 and MOCA Education Intern ‘24) as part of Education Department’s archive project