Hi! I’m Ulyses, the summer Program Assistant for the Museum Apprentice Program at the Brooklyn Museu

Hi! I’m Ulyses, the summer Program Assistant for the Museum Apprentice Program at the Brooklyn Museum. As a former Apprentice myself, I know that the Apprentice Program is a fantastic way to meet other high school students, develop your own professional skills, and discover new things about yourself.Throughout the school year, apprentices meet weekly to explore the artworks and artifacts in the Museum, learn about early childhood education, and develop their own lesson plans. For six weeks during the summer, they teach their own lessons to camp groups, visit different sites around the city, and have exchanges with teen programs from other institutions.For the 2018 Museum Apprentices, “take up space” has become a rallying cry. As these black and brown faces travel through the Brooklyn Museum, the saying is twofold. Not only are they reminding themselves that they are indeed welcome in these galleries, they are also recognizing that the camp groups they teach are largely black and brown as well. For Mariatou, an Apprentice closing out her first year in the program, there was immense value in “having educators that look, talk, and act like me.” As she and her camp groups physically take up space in the Museum, she has now become one of the educators she had admired.The way in which “take up space” is constantly repeated is a testament to how much the Apprentices have internalized the teachings of their leadership, Teen Programs Coordinator Ximena Izquierdo Ugaz, and how affirming those messages are. For many apprentices Jorge, a Senior Apprentice in his second year with the program, described the feeling of having a space in the Museum, and how it makes him “want to have that attitude everywhere, in every institution.” We in Teen Programs realize that museums in general can feel unwelcoming to youth of color, and that stance of taking up space is what makes this experience often feel so radical. I have personally been rewarded with seeing a shift in each of the apprentices, from wondering whether or not they belonged in this space, to going to whatever necessary lengths to make themselves, and others, feel welcome.As the Apprentices taught, they took up space in unique ways, shining within the Museum each with their own vibrant presence. There is both professional and personal growth here- Apprentices have not only become Museum Educators, they’ve also learned to reflect on experiences, become increasingly secure in their identities, and inspire one another on a daily basis. For Emmanuel, what excites him about the Program is how everyone is “inspired by each other to gain personal growth,” and that he’s “always trying to just be better.”For everyone involved, this has been a summer of discovery and growth. Through exchanges with the High Line Teen Arts & Culture Council, the Opportunity Network, and New Museum’s Teen Apprentice Program, and trips to visit the Black Gotham Experience, The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed at the New Museum, and When We Fight We Win at the Clemente Soto Vélez Center, we’ve discovered how marginalized people have fought for their right to take up space and live freely and with equity. Through consistently reflecting, we’ve discovered so much about each other and ourselves. We check-in as an entire group to begin and end every workday, and having that space to speak freely is something I’ve come to greatly appreciate about the program. It is one thing to feel welcome, and another for the Apprentices to know they are valued here in the Brooklyn Museum. For both the teens and myself, it is an amazing feeling to know that their voices matter.Apply for this paid BkM Teens internship between now and Sep 23. Posted by Ulyses Small -- source link

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