Here is my coworker Jen's report on the 2010 Teen Art Gallery.

Saturday August 28th was New Dorp Library’s second Art Gallery that I’ve been allowed to host in the branch… Each year has been a wonderful ball full of stress and excitement! I was constantly worried about having enough finished pieces to fill the room with color and give people a chance to see inside each artist's mind.

Each month we had 3 dates for teens to join us for our different programs: Teen Art Club and the Anime Club. Both of these programs brought my coworker Rob and I together with fantastic kids who had the will to draw or the urge to learn! They were always filled with new and interesting ideas, to inspire us and themselves.

At 10am I first started to let the people into the room, I was nervous, I had no idea if anyone would like any of the work that was put in there.

Soon enough the people came pouring in. I watched them as they looked so intensely at each work of art and some even had questions that my helpful volunteers and I were able to answer.
 

Their responses were really positive! Most people had that look of a “kid in a candy store” (it could have been the big bowl of candy we had put out to attract them.. hehehe), so much to look at that they didn’t know where to start!
 

We had a special section setup for the Teen Art Contest which we had advertised for a few months. Each patron who came to visit received a slip asking: “Which paintings/drawings did you find most interesting? And which contest entry do you like best?” There was also room for their Comments or Suggestions. 
 

A winner was picked from all the public’s votes and a participant went home happy with a lovely gift basket filled with art supplies.
 

160 visitors came into our little gallery that day. It made me feel so proud of all the kids who helped create things, and proud of myself for achieving this goal. I felt as if this was “my baby” and although it put some pressure on me it was totally worth every second. I hope to do this again many more times in the future, and project my artwork and the artwork of the teenagers into the world.

By: Jennifer Gaeta