Swiss Institute Teen Council (SITC)

SITC is a paid opportunity for teens and young adults ages 16-21 years old to explore leadership, collaboration, and self-agency through the lens of queer history, activism, and art. This program is designed for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. 

This season of Teen Council will take place at arts and culture sites across NYC and In-Residence at Visual AIDS, where the archive will serve as a foundation for manifesting a collaborative, research-based project and a culminating event for peers. 

The direction of SITC is led by the interests and passions of its members, but some possible directions include: planning event/s and program/s centered around a teen and young adult audience, creating and publishing a zine, curating an exhibition and/or putting together a performance, shooting and editing a film, organizing a mutual aid project, and so much more.

SITC aims to foster a creative environment to engage with the arts, and provides an open forum to share ideas and try new things. This is a space where young people can cultivate their unique voices and engage in creative processes as a community of learners and artists. 

Requirements

• Be between 16-21 years old at the start of the program.
   
• Be available Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30pm for in-person meetings in lower Manhattan.
    
• Be comfortable traveling across NYC using public transportation independently.
   
• Applicants do not need to be in school, and in fact we strongly encourage young people no longer in school to apply. 

Details and Registration

• SITC will meet on Wednesdays, 4:30pm-6:30pm for 24 sessions between October 21, 2026 and May 19, 2027, plus a final showcase on May 22. A full schedule is outlined in the application.
   
• Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend for their participation paid in two installments.
   
• Applications will be accepted until 10:00am on Friday, September 18.
   

Goals

• Increase awareness of queer activism and artists both historic and contemporary.
   
• Support the cultivation of creative, queer community.
   
• Foster collaboration and project-specific skill development (research, conflict negotiation, artmaking, community outreach, decision-making, planning and organizing, etc.).
   
• Increase exposure to archives and the roles they play in caring for and sharing knowledge.

Access Statement

In this program we will be moving around in the city, using public transportation and seated or standing for a long amount of time. Sometimes, there will be artworks containing triggering or challenging content. We will give a content warning as much as we possibly can in these cases. 

Masks are not required for this program but participants are welcome to wear one. SI will make masks and COVID-19 tests available to all participants. All participants must be up-to-date with vaccinations including COVID-19 vaccines.