73 activities found·Browse by category
Academy of Art University Pre-College Art & Design Experience (PCADE)
Free, college-level pre-college program in San Francisco where high schoolers study animation, game design, fashion, fine art, photography, and filmmaking.
All American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF)
The world's largest student film festival, where high school filmmakers submit short films for a chance to screen at an AMC theater in Times Square and compete for scholarships at an annual New York City awards weekend.
Art for All Teen Program – UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences
Art for All is a five-week summer program in Santa Cruz where rising juniors and seniors explore socially engaged art, visit museums and murals from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, and learn about arts careers through hands-on projects and mentorship; participants receive community-service hours or a small stipend.
Art Students League of Denver – Teen Studio
Drop-in studio program at the Art Students League of Denver for teens ages 14-17 every Friday night. Participants get free access to high-quality art supplies and guidance from professional faculty artists across drawing, painting, printmaking, and mixed media.
ArtCenter Extension Teen Summer Courses (ACX Teens)
Hands-on art and design intensives for high schoolers at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, covering character design, illustration, and design/technology.
Asian Art Museum – Volunteer Program
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco offers volunteer roles supporting exhibitions, education programs, and visitor services; teens can assist with events and family programs, gaining museum-arts experience and service hours.
Asian Art Museum ArtSpeak Internship
Paid HS interns learn Asian art traditions, collaborate with local artists, interview museum staff on arts careers, and design/teach visitor art activities.
BAVC Media Youth & Emerging Media Makers (Climate Warriors)
San Francisco Bay Area filmmaking/media-arts intensive where high schoolers create social-impact media projects, including a climate-justice documentary program.
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest
International creative-expression competition inviting students ages 11-18 to explore ocean and climate issues through art, film, writing, or performance, with cash awards up to $1,000 in the Senior Division.
CalArts Community Arts Partnership Summer Arts (CAPSA)
A free four-week summer arts program in Los Angeles County run by CalArts faculty, alumni, and students, offering high schoolers tuition-free instruction across the disciplines taught at CalArts.
Congressional Art Competition
A nationwide U.S. House of Representatives art contest in which high schoolers submit work to their congressional district office, with winning pieces displayed for a year in the U.S. Capitol.
Congressional Art Competition (CA-04, "An Artistic Discovery")
High schoolers submit an original 2D artwork representing their congressional district; winner's art displays in the U.S. Capitol for a year and wins a DC trip.
Cooper Union Saturday Program
A free, long-running Saturday visual arts and architecture program for New York City public high school students, taught by Cooper Union undergraduates and including field trips and portfolio prep.
Creative Youth Awards (Bay Area)
Large regional competition offering more than $100k in cash awards for youth across categories including visual art; open to Bay Area high school students.
Doodle for Google
An annual national art contest from Google where K-12 students design their own Google homepage doodle around a yearly theme, with finalists winning scholarships and a tech package for their school.
Dr. Jerry Hiura Next Gen Visual Artist Award
Visual art scholarship award for Santa Clara County high school students, honoring Dr. Jerry Hiura; awards include a $3,000 first prize and additional $1,000 prizes.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Teen Programs
Teen programs with events, leadership, and job opportunities (e.g., paid teen guides, Youth Programs Teen Advisory Board) tied to the de Young and Legion of Honor museums.
Getty Museum Teen Gallery Guides
Paid interns learn to research and lead gallery talks/tours at the Getty Center/Villa, building public speaking and art-history skills with museum professionals.
Gnomon Digital Arts Summer Camp – Animation
A five-day high school summer camp at Gnomon School of VFX, Games & Animation in North Hollywood where students (grades 10-12) learn 3D character animation and visual effects in Autodesk Maya from working industry artists.
HSArts Art Competition
Visual art competition offering scholarships up to $3,000 for local youth artists; awards applied to HSArts tuition, young artist programs, or summer camps.
ICA SF Teen Program
Teens explore contemporary art via dialogue, hands-on activities, and public speaking across five sessions, linking art to community issues and creative careers.
ICA SF Teen Program – Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco
The ICA SF Teen Program is a five-session fall program where Bay Area teens meet biweekly to explore contemporary art exhibitions, learn about arts careers, and lead a final public engagement day; students receive a $150 honorarium and become part of the museum community.
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program
A summer arts program on a mountain campus in Southern California offering 120+ workshops and intensives for teens ages 13-18 in visual arts, music, theatre, dance, film, and creative writing.
Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco Teen Program
Teen program where participants attend weekly meetings, learn about contemporary artists, use mobile zine-making resources, and co-organize a public zine and poetry festival; includes a $500 stipend.
Interlochen Arts Camp - High School Programs
A renowned residential summer arts camp in Michigan where high schoolers train intensively in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, film, or creative writing alongside a community of thousands of young artists.
Interlochen Arts Camp – Animation
A three-week residential program at Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan) where high schoolers (grades 9-12) create digital animated shorts using industry-standard software in the 26,000-square-foot DeRoy Center for Film Studies, ending in a public screening.
K12 Photography Competition
A free national photography competition open to all U.S. students in grades PreK-12 (no enrollment at a K12-powered school required), judged on creativity, technique, composition, and storytelling, with cash prizes awarded in four grade bands including 9-12.
Kala Art Institute Teen Studio Art Program
Skill-based, academic-year visual arts studio program in Berkeley covering drawing, watercolor, and mixed media with professional teaching artists.
LCAD Pre-College Summer Program
Four-week summer program at Laguna College of Art and Design where high schoolers build foundational art and design skills and can earn transferable college credit.
MACLA Teen Tech Center
Free San Jose program blending media arts (stop-motion animation, filmmaking, photography, illustration) with teamwork-based creative projects for teens.
META Summer Academy
META Summer Academy is a selective virtual program focused on design, media, and tech where high-school students complete projects under professional mentorship, emphasizing creative/visual storytelling and possibly UI/UX.
MICA Pre-College Summer Intensive
A residential or commuter summer program at the Maryland Institute College of Art where students ages 15-17 take studio classes, build a portfolio, and earn college credit in Baltimore.
MSU Denver Art + Action Lab High School Internship
Paid internship at MSU Denver's Center for Visual Art that gives Denver-area high school students an inside look at careers across the arts (curation, installation, programming, education) through hands-on work alongside professional museum staff.
National Art Honor Society (NAHS)
A national honor society for art students in grades 9-12 run by the National Art Education Association, offering leadership opportunities and access to member-exclusive scholarships from partner art colleges.
National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY)
The largest youth film festival in the world, held annually in Seattle, screening and awarding short films made by filmmakers age 24 and under, with dedicated student and high-school-specific award categories.
National YoungArts Foundation National Arts Competition
A prestigious national competition for artists ages 15-18 across ten disciplines including visual arts, design, film, jazz, photography, classical music, theater, dance, and voice, with cash awards and mentorship for winners.
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