Meet Alannah Dymond, a thesis-year Bachelor of Fine Arts student at OCAD University, and an AGO Youth Council volunteer. Alannah had a great idea – and then got to carry it out with the help of the Margaret Machell Study Grant for 2013.
Her idea? “I wanted to visit a couple of art institutions, learn how their youth groups use social media to engage other young people, and then bring all those possibilities back here to the AGO.”
Alannah & an U.G.L.Y. installation, Concourse Level
That proposal was a perfect fit with the criteria for the Margaret Machell Study Grant, which is administered by the AGO Volunteer Executive and exists to support learning opportunities for AGO volunteers that will benefit both the volunteer and the AGO.
“I wanted to visit one large institution and one smaller one, so I chose the MOMA [Museum of Modern Art] in New York City and Museum London, in London, Ontario,” continues Alannah.
As she discovered, they differ in more than size. At the MOMA, there are three levels of youth involvement, each more selective and smaller than the previous level, while at Museum London (as here at the AGO), there is just one group. MOMA youth use Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, and the young volunteers may post directly to all three. Museum London uses only Facebook, and the youth coordinator prepares all the content.
Alannah is impressed by the freedom the MOMA youth have to post items themselves, but she is also impressed by the huge Facebook following that the London coordinator has built for his group’s activities.
Now she’s starting to apply what she’s learned, here at the AGO. “I’ve discussed my trip with the Youth Council, and with Syrus Ware, our Youth Programs coordinator. So far we’re only using Tumblr, and only for particular projects, such as U.G.L.Y.” She laughs, explains that stands for Unified Geniuses Living Young, and invites us all to see their work in the Community Gallery on the Concourse Level.
“Now we’re planning to expand our use of Tumblr, and we’re exploring the idea of having a Facebook page as well.”
Click!!
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