CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR LAB 2026! DEADLINE JUNE 8 AT MIDNIGHT!
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About Locust Art Builders (LAB): Now in its 16th year, Locust Art Builders (LAB): Summer Art Intensive for Teens is a unique, five-week, hands-on pre-college program for high school students interested in art, design, and creative careers. Each year, up to 30 student artists from across Miami-Dade County are selected through an open call process to participate in a fully funded program featuring workshops, field trips, and collaborative artmaking sessions. Selected students will dive right into the creative, and practical, aspects of completing a collaborative full-scale exhibition at Locust Projects!
Under the 2026 theme "Build for Better," students will focus on process, physical skill-building, and socially conscious practices. Integrating an "analog to AI" approach, students will use digital tools to holistically design for exhibitions and physical fabrication, utilizing sculpture and installation construction to physically build the optimistic future they want to inhabit. No technical experience required.
LAB 2026 INTENSIVE DATES:
June 15 – July 17, 2026 | Mondays – Thursdays | 10am – 3pm - (9am early drop off and 5pm pick up available)
OPENING RECEPTION FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY:
Saturday, July 18 | 5:30-7:30pm
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
June 8, 2026
Locust Art Builders 2026 is made possible through lead support from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, Board of County Commissioners, and The Children’s Trust. Additional support provided by the Hillsdale Fund, The Kirk Foundation, and the INCUBATORS Friends of the Next Generation.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE 2025 DOCUMENTARY VIDEO!
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