Teens can face an uphill battle when asking to be taken seriously, especially teen girls, who so often come up short when seeking opportunities to be heard in open, insightful, meaningful public dialogue. With the art show Teen Dream, which is currently on display at Brooklyn Wayfarers, curator (and Bushwick Daily contributor) Brittany Natale seeks to combat the underrepresentation by showing art by female artists ages 13-21 and providing a platform for work which addresses topics ranging from identity to menstruation.
Natale says the idea for the show originated two years ago when her connections to boundary-crossing publications such as Zine Club Mag, Crybaby, and the tremendously successful, Tavi Gevinson-helmed Rookie Magazine compelled her to lend a hand to emerging female artists whose shortage of opportunities to show their work is certainly not due to lack of talent. The participants come from diverse backgrounds and hail from across the country.
Natale’s interest in curating a show like this dates back to her childhood in Queens, when she witnessed the adversity her mother experienced as a female illustrator. “One of the main goals of the show is to add to the resources available to young female or female-identifying artists,” she explains. The bright, colorful, and often dreamy works in the show belie a fearless approach to difficult subject matter.
The featured artists include Remi Riordan, Sage Adams, Leemer Morse, Lee Phillips, Genevieve Nollinger, Savana Ogburn, Amira Rosenbush, Abbey Gilbert, Alyson Z Williams, Lula Hyers, Fabiola Ching, Tyra Mitchell, Lydia Claire, Emily Wood, Megan Schaller,and Alice C. Liu.
Part of the event will be a “Bead Bar:” since many of the show participants are under 21, Natale created a pop-up bar where attendees can let their creativity reign and make old school friendship bracelets. There will also be vegan, gluten-free treats from Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC and $1 raffle tickets for prizes from Olive and Frank, Echo Club House, and Herbivore Botanicals, among others.
The show runs as a two day event this weekend at BrooklynWayfarers, which is located at 1109 Dekalb Avenue, from 12pm-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.