Beyond the Margins: Bronx Museum Teens Activate the Permanent Collection

The Bronx Museum's Teen Summer program demonstrates how young people can collaborate with museums to reflect on and challenge the world around them. Tasked with curating an exhibition from the Museum's permanent collection, the fourteen NYC high school students participating in the Teen Summer 2026 session selected eleven artists across printmaking, photography, painting, and assemblage. The curatorial process brought shared values into focus through three guiding questions: How do artists defy convention? How do artists experiment with materials? How do artists use their work as a form of resistance?

Beyond the Margins explores what it means to defy: not as a singular act of rebellion, but as a sustained practice of surpassing limitations. The exhibition is a provocative collection of artists' distinct voices, creating an experience centered on how we demonstrate defiance in the face of challenges that are often greater than ourselves. Viewers are invited to consider: what does it mean to push boundaries, and how do we do it every day?

Teen Summer 2026 Cohort: Abigail Perez, Aidan Thompson, Anindita Mandal, Carolyn Todd, Iffat Abidah, Jayden Huang, Jordan Wilson, Luis Garcia, Max Santiago, Meliha Metjahic, Natalia Arrington, Nicole Huerta, Sarah Chen, Tristan Huggins

Educators: Duneska Michel, Jinette Jimenez, Madison Green