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adolescents should encourage young children , experts say - from babies to baby boomers , the formula is not so different

This summer, for the first time , the National Portrait Gallery has closed its doors to adults and is open only to teenagers. Galleries and museums in London often seem to overlook this age group , with endless daytime activities for children and enrichment courses for adults in the evening , but rarely something for us young people . The young Private View last available after hours access to BP Portrait Award 2013 just for the young . No teachers, parents are not allowed .

The event was organized by the Youth Forum of the gallery, a diverse group of young people that includes both of us. We are attracted to the monthly meetings of the promise of a tasty pizza and in return we give you a new perspective on things. Spent some time in our meetings to discuss how we can encourage young people to become more involved in the gallery, and also help in organizing events throughout the year.

've been waiting to put on an event after hours of this scale, only for the young , for a long time . This event is part of the course Gallery BP Portrait Award : Next Generation Project , which aims to encourage 14-19 year olds to participate in the vertical with the grant - the development of young artists, curators and gallery assistants and these once still a future winner .

Posts ( advance booking , but free) is limited to people in this age group , with about 100 young people attending across London , many of whom had never been in the gallery above . We invite our friends through social media, from the Facebook page of our youth forum and Twitter account of the gallery, and we chose a few photos of people at one of our meetings for e -flyer .

We were fortunate to have some special guests artists exhibitor prices in 2013 , including the first winner of Susanne du Toit and Nobel travel BP , Carl Randall . They gave inspirational talks on the stories behind their portraits and how they began their careers .

also made ??some sessions drawing speed : self- portrait mirror, continuous line drawings , drawings of pairs of memory cards and inspired by the paintings of Carl of his time in Japan drawings. You do not need to be a portrait of experts to try some experimental techniques. We also had competitions, talks Youth Forum and a professional photographer take pictures in the gallery and the management of our emerging popular photo booth . would be easy for an event like this to sound condescending , but it was not . One of the reasons we think it is because we have kept the same basic format as other private views of the gallery - an exclusive invitation , closed to other visitors and welcome speech gallery - but activities , food , drinks added ( mocktails! ) and a playlist that knew the young enjoy.

It was like a feast , as we collectively celebrate the exhibition and the importance of young people involved . Sometimes it can feel like museums and art galleries like children that are easy to take, but fear that the stereotype of the immature, antisocial teenager . It is therefore important to have a group of young people to run programs and give "voice" - making the gallery a more welcoming place, a place where we can enjoy our interests and our creativity. "It was a great idea ," said a teenager who came to our event. " This allows you to view a gallery without the fear of being the awkward kid in a room full of adults . " The legacy of the Paralympic Games in London 2012 Olympics and continues to inspire a generation of young athletes , galleries so why not art is the same for young artists ? The opening was an opportunity to get away from the usual crowd of art with his middle-aged visitors. Instead , we were able to experience the show with friends in a more relaxed atmosphere . Those who were not so used to visit galleries and usually find intimidating, or worse , dull instead we found it fun and friendly .

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