High School Students in Pre-College Summer Program Exhibit their Talent

POSTED ON: August 20, 2012

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Pre-college student work
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Pre-college student work
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Pre-college student work

The Outreach Pre-College Summer Exhibition is on public view through Wednesday, August 22.

The exhibition presents the work of 73 talented high school students who participated in Cooper Union’s Outreach Pre-College Summer Program, showcasing work in drawing, design, sculpture, and photography. Four floors of student work on view in the Foundation Building celebrate the accomplishments of these students who spent their summer developing their talents and preparing portfolios for college applications and future careers. High school students from all five boroughs and the greater metropolitan area took part in the program this year—which came with a full scholarship to those accepted. They completed intensive drawing, 2d and 3d courses, creative writing workshops and seminars related to contemporary art issues in four- and six-week sessions.

Stephanie Hightower, who directs the program, noted that, "with great appreciation for the full-scholarship program, the students did their part. They worked hard and happily to prepare portfolios for successful admission to excellent colleges and for careers in the arts."

Teaching artists lead classes in the Summer Program, introducing students to visual thinking in the classroom as well as with trips to various city museums including The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum, The Guggenheim, the Whitney, P.S. 1, Sculpture Center, and several galleries in Chelsea.

Students from the program also participated in a poetry reading in the Great Hall, following three guest artist lectures by Rune Olsen, Nyeema Morgan and Emily Wiener.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.