“Here we can be heard, and our ideas can make a difference.”
Maia Ramirez
When Maia Ramirez and Tilly Quinlan met for the first time, they were buzzing with the same kind of energy:
a palpable joy and enthusiasm for the opportunities Carnegie Museums has given them. Both are teen members and have served on a museum youth advisory board — Maia at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Tilly at The Andy Warhol Museum. They immediately agreed about the importance of the museums as a unique “third space” for teens to gather, explore, and connect.
“We can come and be ourselves in a place that isn’t home or school, but it’s not commercial, either, like a coffee shop or the movies,” Maia says. “We don’t have to go out and spend money. We can be with our friends, walk around, learn things, and actually talk about our ideas with each other, face-to-face.”
It’s a feeling of connection and belonging they didn’t necessarily expect to experience. As Tilly explains, “You know when you just walk into a space and meet people and get the feeling of ‘Yes! I want to, like, spend all my time here’? That is what I felt — and still feel — at The Warhol.” Tilly points to the importance of providing art-minded young people with free access to art materials and the vast resources of the four Carnegie Museums. “From getting to be part of the group that planned The Warhol’s annual Youth Invasion to working in the print shop at the museum after school, everywhere around me I see inclusivity, creativity, and communication, and that is what we need right now,” she says.
Maia agrees. “It’s important for all of us to have creative discussions and challenging conversations, and the museums give us the space to explore important ethical questions about philanthropy, cultural artifacts, and how we learn about and experience our own history.”
The museums have also served as a catapult to the teens’ future careers. Maia is studying linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh, inspired by her time as a Museum of Natural History camp counselor. Tilly will study art history to become a curator or archivist — careers she learned were real possibilities solely because of the people she met at The Warhol.
Even with all the great experiences the pair have had, they’re both hungry for more, including more teen member participation and more collaboration between the teen advisory boards. “There’s a lot that I wish other teens knew,” Maia says. “I have met so many experts in their fields, in entomology and botany and anthropology and paleontology. Any field you could really ask for, there’s someone at the museum who is passionate about what they know and is willing to teach you. I think the opportunities that the museums provide are boundless.”
