Post Your America

Left: Henry Peters Gray (American 1819–1877). The Greek Lovers, 1846. Oil on canvas, 40 1/4 x 51 1/2 in. (102.2 x 130.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of William Church Osborn, 1902 (02.7.2). Right: Charles Sprague Pearce (1851–1914). The Arab Jeweler, ca. 1882. Oil on canvas, 46 x 35 3/8 in. (116.8 x 89.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Edward D. Adams, 1922 (22.69)

«As part of The Met's High School Internship Program this past summer, my fellow interns and I had the opportunity to create an activity for the October 2016 Teens Take The Met event. Our goal was to create something fun and engaging that related to the art in the galleries of the Department of The American Wing, as our activity was set to take place in The Charles Engelhard Court. Over the next few weeks, Patrick, Amelia, Nina, Camryn, Brad, and I explored the galleries for pieces that stood out to us.»

This was a major challenge at first, as the most of the art seemed to be colonial or landscape. We thought, "How can we connect that to current times?" Then, we came across two paintings that seemed a little different: Charles Pearce Sprague's The Arab Jeweler in gallery 766 and Henry Peters Gray's The Greek Lovers in gallery 736. The paintings were both stylistically more European and portrayed people of other worlds and cultures, yet they were created by two American painters. This reminded us of the way people in America, more specifically New York, pull aspects of other countries and cultures and apply them to their own lives. From there, we began to think of the different languages, foods, and customs that make up every street of each neighborhood in and around the city. In the end, we came up with the idea of postcard decoration. Many teens our age collected postcards, and it was a small and simple way to share many neighborhoods with others. We called it Post Your America, with the hope that the finished products could be posted to Instagram, pasted on a wall, or sent as mail.

High School Interns Camryn (left) and Greer (right) at the Post Your America station in The Charles Engelhard Court during the October 2016 Teens Take The Met event. Photo by Patrick Gilfillan

Though the internship experience ended in August, our small group of education interns had grown extremely attached, both to working with one another and the creation of our activity. So, when Betsy contacted us about coming back to actually work at Post Your America, our excitement was hard to contain. At least, I know mine was. What I was both nervous and excited about was seeing what participating teens thought of our activity. Would it start any discussions about our ever-developing city, or would it just be a fun way to bond with friends and new people? Will the "posting" aspect of the activity take off? And, as a whole, will Post Your America be as popular as tote bags and button making? I hoped so. Before this October, I had never been to a Teens Take The Met event, and now, working at one, I was so looking forward to not just running our activity, but seeing everything else within the Museum. Word in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education was that this night brought The Met to life in a whole new way.

Three post cards from Post Your America at the October 2016 Teens Take The Met event. Photo by Patrick Gilfillan

When the other interns and I arrived at The Met on October 28, the building was already brimming with excitement, and so was I! We made our way to our station in Englehard with an hour to spare, and practiced our various roles. As a greeter, I was meant to introduce the activity to participants and spark their interest in creating their own postcards. Right before the first group of teens walked into The American Wing, I was extremely nervous, but as soon as small packs of kids began to line up eagerly, I felt a sense of pride in Post Your America. Kids who hailed from all over the city came together, sharing what they were drawing or collaging and why it mattered to their neighborhood. One girl from the Upper East Side even drew The Met because of the impact it had on her childhood! Other people drew the subway stations where they waited every morning, the fish market down the street from their apartment, and the friends they had known growing up.

Though I had worried that people may not like the activity, I could not have been more wrong. After a night of posting postcards, meeting cool teens, reuniting with other old interns, and listening to some really good music, I left the Museum feeling inspired. The October 2016 Teens Take The Met event left me more excited than ever to visit the Museum again and again.