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 2021 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, The Lab for Teen Thinkers hybrid program met daily from July 6 – July 29.

The 2021 – 2022 Lab for Teen Thinkers

Michelle Attoh
Taryn Chung
Taquasia George
Rameen Gondal
Nailah Jahangir
Brandon Lee
Tamia Major
Ella Roundy
Samantha Saenz
Asha Suganthan
Charlotte Weinstein
Aleah Goodman
Gillian Mulder

Acknowledgements

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

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

Cynthia Copeland, Historian, Curator, and Adjunct Faculty member of NYU Steinhardt; Co-Director of the IESVH
Kamau Ware, Founder of Black Gotham
Marie Warsh, Historian at Central Park Conservancy

Bard Graduate Center Staff

Ama Codjoe, Consulting Director of Equity and Inclusion
Jesse Merandy, Director of Digital Humanities and Digital Exhibitions (DH/DX)
Helen Polson, Writing Professor
Madeline Porsella, BGC MA ’22, Website Designer
Emily Reilly, Director of Public Engagement
Nadia Rivers, Coordinator of Public Programs, Education, and Engagement and Teen Mentor
Chantal Sulkow, Reference and Collections Librarian
Pim Supavarasuwat, BGC MA ‘21, Teen Research Assistant and Mentor
Maggie Walter, Coordinator of Marketing and Communications
Madison Williams, BGC MA ’21, Copy Editor

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).

Leading support of this project is provided by Gregory Soros and the Pinkerton Foundation, with additional support from the Dana Foundation, Peter A. Nadosy, Lewis Haber, and other generous donors to Bard Graduate Center.