About

The Lab for Teen Thinkers is a public humanities program that prepares rising juniors and seniors in high school for future academic and professional success through civic development, mentoring, and internship opportunities. Teens have access to Bard Graduate Center’s research institute, object study collection, and library. The program gives teens the unique opportunity to study objects and artifacts with a variety of scholars, curators, and PhD students working in the fields of material culture, decorative arts, and design history. Teens conduct independent research and create dynamic digital projects with the support of our Digital Media Lab. Teen Thinkers share their scholarship with the larger academic community at Bard Graduate Center, influencing how others might learn and think about material culture.

During the Summer of 2020 Teen Thinkers researched artifacts from Seneca Village, the predominately African American community that the city displaced in 1857 during the construction of Central Park. Taught during the extraordinary time of the COVID-19 pandemic, twenty four Teen Thinkers met daily on Zoom from July 6 – August 6. 

We invite you to explore this engaging digital exhibition.

The 2020-2021 Lab for Teen Thinkers

Sajida Ahmed, BHSEC Manhattan
Samantha Alexander, St. Ann’s School
Ymorah Blakeney BHSEC Queens
Paul Bloom, BHSEC Manhattan
Sha-Emera Campbell, The Brearley School
Will Chen, BHSEC Manhattan
Abida Choudhury, Manhattan Center for Science and Math
Eve Dartley, BHSEC Queens
Marta Davila-Lomas, BHSEC Manhattan
Arpita Dhar, BHSEC Queens
Hope Dworkin, BHSEC Queens
Lea Elton, BHSEC Queens
Lucia Fishel, BHSEC Manhattan
Ella Gillespie, NYC iSchool
Ariane T. Hurwitz, BHSEC Manhattan
Katelyn Kim, BHSEC Queens
Samuel Fischer Murphy, Brooklyn Latin School
Mst Nayma, BHSEC Queens
Crystal Pereira, The Packer Collegiate Institute
Martin Radwell, BHSEC Queens
Ryan Schroeder, BHSEC Queens
Khushboo Shah, Townsend Harris High School
Nico Stuart, BHSEC Manhattan
Tahsin Tawhid, Stuyvesant High School

Acknowledgments

A project like this requires the support and collaboration of many people, and we give our sincere thanks to Assistant Professor Meredith Linn; Tova Kadish, PhD Student & Education Fellow; and Carla Repice, Senior Manager of Education, Engagement and Interpretation, who designed and implemented this year’s Seneca Village-focused program.

We also thank the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History (IESVH), whose research formed the foundation of this year’s program and digital exhibition.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this project.

Visiting Scholars

Ama Codjoe, Poet and Educator
Cynthia Copeland, Historian, Curator, and Adjunct Faculty member of NYU Steinhardt; Co-Director of the IESVH
Diana diZerega Wall, Archaeologist and Professor Emerita at City College and the CUNY Graduate Center; Co-Director of the IESVH
Paul Johnson, Historian, vestry member of All Angels’ Church, and IESVH Board member
Jessica S. MacLean, Archaeologist
Alexander Manevitz, History Fellow at The New York Historical Society
Nan Rothschild, Archaeologist, Professor Emerita at Barnard College and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University; Co-Director of the IESVH
Phil Sutton, Research Librarian at the New York Public Library
Kamau Ware, Founder of Black Gotham

Bard Graduate Center Staff

Emma Cormack, Associate Curator
Amy Estes, Director of Marketing and Communications
Juliana Fagua-Arias, Digital Exhibition Assistant
Anna Helgeson, Reader Services Librarian
Jocelyn Lau, Designer
Jesse Merandy, Director of Digital Humanities and Digital Exhibitions (DH/DX)
Emily Reilly, Director of Public Engagement
Nadia Rivers, Coordinator of Public Programs, Education, and Engagement
Rachael Schwabe, Teaching Assistant
Chantal Sulkow, Reference and Collections Librarian
Heather Topcik, Director of the Library

About Bard Graduate Center

Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events. At Bard Graduate Center, we study the human past through its material traces. We study objects—from those created for obvious aesthetic value to the ordinary things that are part of everyday life. Learning is what Bard Graduate Center is all about. Our accomplished faculty inspire students to strive for excellence, knowing that this will prepare them for the intellectual and professional rigors of careers in academia, in museums, and in the private sector. This high standard is equally the hallmark of the Gallery’s acclaimed exhibitions and related public programs.

The Center’s campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building at 38 West 86th Street, the Gallery at 18 West 86th Street, and a residence hall at 410 West 58th Street. Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, Bard Graduate Center is an academic unit of Bard College through which it is accredited and a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).