This fall, several teenagers from the Kingsbridge and Grand Central branches of the New York Public Library participated in a very unique program. When Robin Bowman created The American Teenager Project, she was photographing and interviewing teenagers all over the country.

This was her first time conducting this program in a library setting, and it was an intensive program that ran for two months (a little longer than we expected, thanks to Hurricane Sandy). Multiple sessions were spent taking photographs both inside and outside the library. We walked around our neighborhood, and Robin brought cameras for the teens to take pictures of each other in different locations. She observed and coached them as they took pictures in nearby Ewing Park:and on the streets in our neighborhood:In between and after the photography sessions, Robin interviewed the teens and had them interview each other. They talked about a variety of topics, like religion, money, family, their biggest fears, and life-changing experiences. You can hear audio clips from some of those interviews and see some of the portraits in the "Current Exhibitions" section of The American Teenager Project website.

If you would like to see the exhibit which contains the photographic portraits the teens created and read excerpts from their interviews, please stop by the Kingsbridge Library and look at the wall just past the service desk on the main floor.And if you can't make it up to the Kingsbridge neighborhood, an identical exhibit will be going up at the Grand Central Library very soon!