ICP Teen Academy welcomes students ages 14–19 from anywhere to develop their skills as visual storytellers and changemakers. Choose from a range of in-person and online courses!

ICP Teen Academy welcomes students ages 14–19 from anywhere in the United States and worldwide, to develop their skills as visual storytellers and changemakers. Choose from a range of in-person and online photography courses for teens!

The teen photography program is designed to cultivate visual literacy, personal vision, and leadership skills through studies focused on the techniques and histories of photography and visual culture.

See our students’ work here.

Seasonal Teen Academy Courses in Photography and Visual Storytelling

Teen Academy offers quarterly in-person or online teen photography courses across genres and techniques for every level student. All curricula include: photographic and writing assignments, open lab time, visual presentations, discussions, critiques, guest artist visits, field trips, and a culminating presentation for family and friends celebrating the students’ achievements.

Register for Summer Teen Academy Courses

Registration for full-tuition students

Scholarship application
 

Imagemakers

Teen Academy Imagemakers enables motivated high school juniors, seniors, and gap year students to advance their photography, writing, and public speaking skills while developing an awareness of the creative and professional possibilities in the field. This weekly in-person teen photography program, which runs from October to June, provides teen photographers with guidance from renowned teaching artists, virtual visits to museums, galleries, and studios, college-prep workshops, pre-professional assignments, mentorship opportunities, and a unique community of their peers. This program for teen photographers is designed for students who are passionate about photography and visual culture as mediums of empowerment and social change. By the end of the year, students will create an extensive portfolio, including an artist’s statement and CV. A selection of their best work is featured in a culminating showcase on ICP’s website.

See past Teen Academy Imagemakers’ work here

Scholarships for Teen Academy Imagemakers 

Teen Academy is committed to making photography education accessible to all young people, regardless of their economic resources. Need-based scholarships are available to teens before the start of each term.

If you would like to be considered for a scholarship in an upcoming in-person or online teen photography course, please complete an application. Scholarship applications are reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.

 

Special Thanks

Teen Academy is made possible with generous support from Luana Alesio, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Richard & Jean Coyne Family Foundation, Susan and Thomas Dunn, Eye Contact Foundation, William Talbott Hillman Foundation, Keith Haring Foundation, Houston Family Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, Inc., Stuart Z. Katz and Jane D. Martin, Philip and Edith Leonian Foundation, The New York Community Trust, Monika and Deven Parekh, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, and Lois and Bruce Zenkel.
 
Teen Academy is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

      

    

 

TOP IMAGE: © Karyna Maldonado

Alumni Work

Portrait of a young man sitting on steps in front of a door
Noah Zimny, Student
Black and white photo of three young women sitting on a bench wearing formal dresses
Nicole Zeigler, Student
Photo of a billboard
Violet Willams, Student