About Us

Our Mission

The Marble Collection (TMC) cultivates creativity and excellence in the arts by engaging teen artists and writers in a publication process that affirms their voices and deepens their learning. 

Our Vision

TMC envisions a community that cultivates young artists and writers, in which we are the leading publisher and advocate of creative work by teens.

About Us

To fulfill our mission, we publish the Massachusetts High School Magazine of the Arts, a juried, professional-quality publication, and the only Massachusetts’ statewide print and online magazine of the arts featuring artwork, photography, poetry, creative writing and spoken word poetry videos by students in grades 8 to 12. TMC’s commitment to published teens does not end when they are selected for publication. TMC’s commitment to published teens does not end when they are selected for publication. We offer our Mentoring for Publication Workshops, lasting 6 weeks, in which teens are paired one-to-one with college student mentors, who guide their work to publication for real world audiences. Teens explore the creative process through self-reflection, and ultimately learn to describe their work and convey its meaning to audiences at TMC's annual magazine release gala, Spring into Art.

Why We Do it

It has been demonstrated that art, in all its forms, contributes to social and academic development in youth. According to the nonprofit research and advocacy group, Americans for the Arts, a high level of involvement in the arts is linked to improved academic performance for students, lower school drop out rates, and greater college and career readiness. Yet budget cuts, and an emphasis on standardized testing, are eliminating creative classes in schools across Massachusetts. TMC helps to fill the gap left by a decline in school arts programming. We support teens in their creative endeavors and affirm their voices by giving them the experience of publication for real world audiences.  At a time of tightening education budgets, we offer our publishing and mentoring programs to teens free of charge.

Our teen artists and writers say it best. They tell us that taking part in TMC’s programs helps them discover their passions, build their confidence and life skills, and find inspiration to pursue their art beyond high school. In evaluations, 95% of teens rate the workshops as a highly positive experience that strengthened their confidence, social skills, and artistic and writing abilities.

Our Accomplishments

Each year, nearly 100 Massachusetts teens participate in our Mentoring for Publication Workshops and are published in the Massachusetts High School Magazine of the Arts. Their work is selected from the roughly 600 works submitted annually via our website. Our participating teens represent more than 200 public and private schools and community organizations across the state. In 2013, TMC was awarded the prestigious Arts|Learning “Distinguished Community Arts Collaborative - Multi-Disciplinary” Award for developing a model arts education collaborative between school and community cultural resources.

TMC has made a significant impact in our community since our founding in 2008. Among our proudest accomplishments, we've...

  • Published 800 teen writers and artists in the print and online editions of the Massachusetts High School Magazine of the Art;
  • Published 14 print and online editions of the semiannual Massachusetts High School Magazine of the Arts;
  • Distributed a complimentary magazine subscription to every public and school library in the state, reaching nearly 35,000 teens, educators and community members;
  • Engaged 120 college students in the TMC Internship Program who received hands-on leadership experience in the operations of our organization;
  • Paired 500 teens one-to-one with college student mentors who guided them through the 6-week publication process;
  • Showcased 150 teen works at the annual magazine release gala, Spring Into Art, which brings over 225 educators, teens, and community members together each year;
  • Featured the works of 265 teens on our e-Gallery, wherein high-quality prints of their artwork is for sale;
  • Led 10 free, classroom Teen Publication Workshops to encourage teens in under-resourced, urban communities to take part in TMC's programs.