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fuller craft museum screening series Under the aegis of the Brockton Alliance for Youth and the Massachusetts Cultural Council YouthReach Initiative, the Teen Docent Program at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts was created to address the issue of high adolescent pregnancy rates in Brockton. Local teenage girls become gallery guides and mentors for elementary age girls, thereby developing communication skills and increasing self-esteem. The docents convene at the museum two days a week after school where they talk about and make artwork that reflects their perspectives on everything from personal identity to the issue of standardized testing in education. Today the program uses contemporary art as a means to discuss difficult issues such as sexuality, prejudice, "look-ism," teen pregnancy, and politics. Over the last three years, Art:21 and the Fuller have worked together to introduce contemporary artists as creative role models through the Art:21 films. Art:21 staff have visited the program to talk with the docents and share ideas about both the docents' own art and the work featured in the Art:21 series. The museum also hosted a public preview screening event in anticipation of Art:21's second season. During a visit in March 2003, Art21 Director of Education and Outreach Jessica Hamlin, Docent Coordinator Margaret Tittemore, and participating girls talked about how contemporary art is defined and experienced, the ways that art expresses individual and social concerns, and the possibilities for careers in the arts. Slides and artist segments featuring Kiki Smith, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Kara Walker, and Do-Ho Suh encouraged further conversation. |
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