Julia Rossel

Coming of age as a creative person in Houston has been a blessing because of public programming created by Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s (CAMH) Teen Council. Fellow teens I met at Music Fest 2018 became my friends and when I showed work in 2019 in the Teen Council-organized exhibition, Shapeshifters, I met artists that have continued to be my peers in this city’s contemporary scene. Exposure to like-minded young people early on empowered me. Seeing what teenagers could come up with when CAMH provided the time and space to express themselves, inspired me to test what I could do without that kind of support. At age 16, Teen Council’s programming was proof to me that all I needed to foster a community was access to other artists, a location to meet, and a way to spread the word. That realization informed how I approach social sculpture within my art practice at 20 years old. My initial role at CAMH was giving tours and hosting public programs as a member of the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) Team. I love engaging visitors with their own creativity in workshops and opening a dialogue between tour groups and the artwork. Becoming the Teen Council Associate was a full circle moment. Now I’m in the position of guiding them while they make decisions about public programming. Getting to witness how their curation is enriching their generation of peers is so exciting because I am not very far removed from teenagerdom. I can still feel the aftershock of each step I took in that era within my professional and creative life, these experiences are creating context for young adults who are beginning their arts career here in Houston. The sooner one is aware that pursuing art in any way is tangible, the more confidence they can build; which is why I enjoy being a Teaching Artist at Navarro Middle School. Answering questions that students might have about how seemingly daunting and ambiguous a creative life path may be, is showing them that following their passions is possible and they aren’t the only ones who want to.