The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is hosting a masquerade winter wonderland themed Coffee House event this Friday, January 13th, from 6-8 pm. Located in the newly renovated NCMA cafe, the event is organized by the Teen Arts Council, the museum’s community outreach teen ambassadors. At the Coffee House, there will be craft stations including a crochet table, an open mic, and a hot chocolate bar.

Sabrina Hurtado, the Manager of Teen and College Programs at the art museum, is leading the Teen Arts Council in hosting the event. She describes the council as “a dynamic group of teens that serve as ambassadors and learners of the North Carolina Museum of Art.” In addition, she says “members host monthly teen sketching events, plan teen programs, contribute to teen art exhibitions, and learn about different career paths in the museum world.”

“In my last few years at NC State, […]I enjoyed making programs and events to make the arts diverse and accessible for younger audiences, which is what led me to this job as Manager of Teen and College Programs for the NCMA,” Hurtado says. “Working with the Teen Arts Council has been amazing; they are all driven and creative teens that are excited to help and contribute to different events and programs we have at the museum.”

The “Winter Wonderland” Teen Coffee House will have a variety of stations where attendees can express their creativity, each with a Teen Arts Council ambassador to guide students through the art-making process. These include an open mic with poems and song and dance performances, a crafts station where attendees can make origami and masquerade masks, a photo booth where attendees can take winter wonderland themed photos, and a crochet table. 

“We are going to have an Exquisite Corpse activity on a long piece of paper for participants,” says Hurtado. “The end result will be interesting to see, as all teens are welcome to sketch and add onto this piece which will make it a very unique work of art.” 

Additionally, as attendees arrive, they will receive a bingo card encouraging them to find people matching different descriptions such as “someone who has a guinea pig” and “someone who speaks 3 languages.” 

Emma Belledin, a junior at Enloe and a member of the museum’s Teen Arts Council, will be working at the crafts and photobooth stations during the Coffee House.

“It will be a really fun way to get other kids involved with the museum and just doing something creative,” she says, describing the event as a “way to meet new people and do fun, artsy, crafty things.” At the crafts and photobooth stations, she says her job will mainly be “helping keep things organized, making sure everyone has a turn, and making sure questions are answered.”

You can register to attend the event at this link. The Coffee House will be in the NCMA cafe in the West Building from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm this Friday, January 13th. Tickets are free, and all students aged 13-18 can attend.