Open Dialogue: Youth & Museums

About

How can museums build authentic collaboration with young people? Join an informal conversation with youth artists alongside the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Vanessa Sanchez and MCA Manager of Youth and Family Programs Grace Needlman about the ways museums engage youth voices.

The Dialogue Series is a museum-wide commitment to sustained inquiry about museum practice, access, and inclusion. Each annual series includes eminent speakers presenting innovative work happening across disciplines, panel discussions, and opportunities for open dialogue between local arts professionals and audiences.

Vanessa Ann Sanchez received her BFA in painting at the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently is the Yollocalli Arts Reach Director at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Since 2001, she has dedicated her career to designing innovative, creative, and free art and media programs for teens and young adults in collaboration with local and international artists. She has served on the Hive Chicago Advisory Committee, the Little Village Quality of Life Plan, the Pilsen Image Taskforce, and the Lakefront Curatorial Committee. Currently, she is the board vice president for Villapalooza, the Little Village music festival. She is also an artist and collaborator in the Instituto Grafico de Chicago print collective and the Chicago Artists Creating Transformation (ACT) Collective.