Future Curators

AK Teens: Future Curators is an annual program designed to expose high school students to the museum field. Juniors and seniors in high school may apply for the opportunity to participate in the program as curators; students in grades 9 to 12 can enter artworks to be considered for inclusion in the Future Curators' annual exhibition.

The after-school portion of the AK Teens: Future Curators program is for students in grades 11 and 12. Throughout the course of the program, students learn about the different components of creating an exhibition, meet with various Albright-Knox staff members, and organize an exhibition of artwork by local high school students.

Students are involved all aspects of the exhibition, including selecting the artwork; designing the exhibition’s layout; and writing the wall text, in-gallery labels, and press release.

The 2019 Future Curators view and select artwork for their exhibition. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

Guests explore the 2019 AK Teens: Future Curators Exhibition at the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

2020 Future Curators

The 2020 Future Curators team consists of 20 students in grades 11 and 12. From January to May 2020, this creative team of young aspiring art professionals learned about what goes on behind the scenes at the Albright-Knox. They also used the museum's collection and the special exhibition Open House: Domestic Thresholds by Heather Hart, Edra Soto, and Rodney Taylor to learn how to think about art from the mindset of a curator.

The 2020 Future Curators' exhibition—Meet Me in Between—features artwork created by high school students from Western New York and Ontario, Canada. This exhibition was planned to be on view at the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology and the Western New York Book Arts Center. Due to social distancing guidelines related to the COVID-19 outbreak, the exhibition is being moved online to the Albright-Knox’s website. A virtual exhibition opening celebration is planned for Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 5–6 pm. Learn More about the 2020 Future Curators

For more information about the Future Curators program, please contact Samantha Serrano at sserrano@albrightknox.org or futurecurators@albrightknox.org.