MOCA Youth Council: Creative Youth
MOCA Toronto is not currently accepting applications. Check back here for news on our next session.
What is Creative Youth?
Creative Youth is a space for young creatives to explore and interact with the Museum behind the scenes.
This three-month long series of workshops and creative sessions guides youth (ages 15–18) in transforming their emerging community arts passion into practice. Participants will learn about programme production, community arts building facilitation, curation, and artistic professional development skills while meeting with artists and arts practitioners at the Museum, participating in events, and also engaging in their own creative media arts work. There are two sessions of Creative Youth per year, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Towards the end of the series, members will co-produce a programme of their own design, which can range from workshops to exhibitions to performances.
In developing their programme, members of Creative Youth will have the opportunity to respond to MOCA’s exhibitions and to broader social issues. Members are also given the opportunity to meet exhibiting artists and MOCA partners in order to explore the inner workings of arts institutions, with the aim of empowering young artists to step into the role of arts leaders within their own communities.
Creative Youth is proud to be the only youth council and/or youth-centered programme which reimburses its council members for their time and effort by providing its participants with an honorarium based on the hourly minimum wage.
Learn more about opportunities and workshops for youth by following us on Instagram or signing up for the MOCA newsletter.
Session Timeline
The 2025 spring session runs from March–June, 2025.
Creative Youth sessions are held weekly on Tuesday evenings at MOCA from 5–6:30 pm.
This programme is offered twice a year in the spring and fall, coinciding with school semesters. Youth must apply for each semester separately.
If you have any questions about MOCA’s Youth Council or the application process, contact learning@moca.ca
Hear From Past Creative Youth Members
Creative Youth Archive
Fall 2024: Future Ruins: Memorializing Fragments Of A City In Flux
The Fall 2024 Creative Youth season culminated in a collaborative exhibition and workshop that aimed to address the question: How can we mourn buildings that experience change and development in an urban landscape? Future Ruins invited reflections on the impermanence of architecture and its infrastructure. Explored through a case study of demolished and re-adaptive architecture, Future Ruins engaged with archival material, found objects, and artefacts from the loss of collective and personal buildings and sites. The works in Future Ruins contend with the changing built environment, offering commemorations in the form of artworks.
Accompanying the exhibition was a Paper Flower workshop that addressed the themes of morality and mourning. The workshop was led by council members and led participants through the delicate practice of origami paper-folding, aiming to apply the motif of flowers as an expression of sympathy, grief, love, celebration, and respect for the dead.
Spring 2024: Through the Eyes of Us
Through the Eyes Of Us was a series of public programmes that included a zine exhibition, a workshop, and a panel discussion. Inspired by Toronto’s rich cultural history, his programme raised the question of “how do stories affect the lives of young people”?
The exhibition portion of Through the Eyes of Us presented a collection of zines created by council members that approached Toronto’s lore, from family chronicles, to folk tales, to ecological histories. Each exhibiting zine artist drew on their personal experiences, culture, and place within Toronto. Drawing from this experience, the council also offered a zine-making workshop and subsequent panel discussion in which they addressed the question “ What do world-building and lore mean to you”?
Fall 2023: Sterling Road Punks
The Fall 2023 Creative Youth season dedicated their energies towards a pop-up exhibition titled Sterling Road Punks, inspired by the century-long history of the Tower Automotive Building prior to its redevelopment as the Auto BLDG. The exhibition was inspired by the period of vacancy from 2006 to 2017, when the site was purportedly used as a space for underground raves, parties, and gatherings. The exhibition was created with the goal of presenting works that are both interactive and participant-focused and included a photography wall and polaroid camera for visitor use.
Spring 2023: Alternative Futures
This season of Creative Youth focused on the theme of “Alternative Futures” through their development of a guided media art walk and day of additional curated programmes titled Creative Youth Takeover. The walk provided an immersive experience that celebrated the visions of young artists for a new future, featuring media art, gifs, videos, augmented reality, and other multimedia expressions. The programme was presented thematically, taking visitors through works responding to Dystopian Perspectives, Utopian Perspectives, and Spectrum of Alternatives.
Creative Youth Takeover began with performances by council members, highlighting their skills in Indigenous hoop dance, music, and poetry and was followed by art-making activities,an exhibition tour of Kapwani Kiwanga’s exhibition Remediation, and closed with a panel discussion. The panel discussion, titled Youth Art Matters allowed the opportunity to discuss the importance of youth arts and their vision for the future. Questions ranged from the impact of art on communities to challenges facing youth artists today.
FAQ
Why should I take part in Creative Youth
- Get experience in a real arts environment
- Begin to establish your professional artist networks
- Build your résumé, portfolio, or school applications, including reference letter support
Who can apply and how?
All youth between the ages of 15–18 are welcome and encouraged to apply to MOCA’s Creative Youth. No experience is necessary — simply come with an enthusiasm and interest in the arts.
What can I expect from the programme?
- Learn in creative and art-based ways
- Support from MOCA staff and partners in your learning
- Develop a network of youth artists and youth arts leaders
- Become an effective leader, learning about community-engaged work in the Museum, both in practice and in theory
- Plan and implement a community programme that will serve your creative interests at MOCA
What is the commitment? Do I have to be at all the sessions?
Full attendance is required for all participants. We do recognize that capacity can vary, that life gets busy, and that attending all sessions may not be possible. Participants must communicate absences in advance where possible. Prior commitments and expected absences must be communicated 48-hours in advance. Absences that have not been communicated to Creative Youth staff leaders will result in a decrease of honorarium.
How many youth will be a part of the programme
Up to 20 youth will be selected to participate in each Creative Youth cohort.
Is there compensation or support for travel to MOCA?
Yes, a small honorarium is available for participating youth (depending on attendance, participation, and programme completion). We recommend you check travel times and plan your commute before applying to ensure that you can make it to the programme by 5pm each Tuesday.
I missed the deadline for Creative Youth! How can I still be involved?
Even if you missed the deadline, additional opportunities are available throughout the year for emerging youth artists and youth with a keen interest in contemporary art. Creative Youth happens twice a year coinciding with school semesters. Visit our Instagram or sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay up to date with upcoming opportunities.
What are the accessibility considerations for Creative Youth?
Creative Youth encourages applications from young arts enthusiasts of all skill levels and identities, including but not limited to: 2S, queer, trans, and questioning youth; Black, Indigenous, and youth of colour; youth who live with disabilities; youth who live with mental illness, physical illness, neurodivergence, and those with other accessibility needs. Please find more information regarding accessibility at MOCA here.
What is the criteria for selection?
We are looking for a diverse group of youth across ages, disciplines, interests, and communities. We are also looking for youth who have a keen interest in the contemporary arts, and if that interest has been demonstrated before through previous leadership experience, all the better!
That being said, previous experience in art creation, arts administration, or creative community building is not required.
Creative Youth is designed for enthusiastic students aged 15-18 who can commit to weekly meetings, participate in sessions and collaborate with their peers to create a successful programme.
Image Credits: Fall 2024 Youth Council, Future Ruins, MOCA Toronto, 2024. | Spring 2024 Youth Council, Through The Eyes of Us, MOCA Toronto, 2024. | Fall 2023 Youth Council, Sterling Road Punks, MOCA Toronto, 2023. | Spring 2023 Youth Council, Alternative Futures, MOCA Toronto, 2023.