Your students have worked so hard and learned so much this year and their pieces really show their progress! Why not highlight their dedication with a student art show? March is Youth Art Month and a great time to display your students’ works of art. The thought of hosting an art show may seem overwhelming, but the tips below should alleviate some stress. Your students will feel like super stars and their families and friends will enjoy seeing their work. Let’s get started!
The Art
Let’s start with the most important piece—the art! You probably have a few pieces in mind; those that really impressed or inspired you, showed marked improvement, or those of which the student was particularly proud.
You’ll also want to display the best pieces for each major project you worked on in class, to show the breadth of your program and to offer your guests a bit of variety. And, you’ll want to be sure that each student has at least one piece represented in the show. The best way to make sure you’ve done both is to set up labeled areas for each project and print a master list of students. As you review your students’ work and select pieces for each project, be sure to check the students off of your list. Undertake this review as early as possible to give any students who do not have a completed piece to display in the show time enough to finish one.
The Set Up
Next, determine where your show will be. If you’re lucky enough to have an art room big enough, that’s one option. Otherwise, consider your school’s library, multi-purpose room, gymnasium, cafeteria, or even hallways. You can also look outside of the school to the public library, district office, or even city hall.
A location with plenty of empty walls you can staple into is ideal, but you can also make good use of open floor space with art display panels. Either way, you’ll want to mat each piece you’re displaying with a professional-looking, pre-cut mat. You’ll also want to include a label with the artist’s name, grade and name of the artwork—your school secretary may be able to help print the labels. Then, simply staple, tape or tack up the matted pieces. Matting the art and creating the display panels are perfect student projects and can be begun weeks ahead of your show date.
Three-dimensional work will require tables for display. A simple cloth—black or colorful—adds a touch of elegance and draped boxes and crates of varying heights are a nice way to add some visual interest to your 3-D display.
If you’ve got the time (and the bandwidth), consider projecting a looping digital slideshow on an open wall. This is a great way to feature art that’s not physically included in the show.
The Marketing
After you’ve put in so much work you want to be sure your even will be well attended! One way to make sure you get as many visitors to your show as possible to is to team up with another well-attended school event, such as a school- or district-wide celebration of the arts, the spring concert, or open house.
Whether your show is part of a larger event, a one-night affair or stays up for a week or a month, you’ll want to use every communication tool available to you to announce the show to the parents and to the community at large. If your school utilizes a phone recording system, request that your event is included several times in the weekly recorded messages; likewise in your district’s digital notification system. Be sure the event is posted on your school’s online calendar. If you’ve got access to parent email lists, send an email announcement—and include photos! And don’t forget the good old fashioned flyer—you may want to send a save the date as well as a reminder the week of the event. Hype your students up as well—get them excited about showing off their work so they’re sure to push the show to their families. A press release to your local newspaper is another great way to spread the word. Just write up the who, what, when, and where and include a photo of a previous event and of some of your favorite pieces.
Be sure to include some signage directing your attendees to the show, both outside the building and in. This is a great student project, if you’ve got the space in your curriculum.
The Big Day
When the big day finally arrives and you have hundreds of pieces of art displayed and just as many smiling students and impressed parents, all of your hard work will be well worth it. Take in the fruits of your labor and revel in the knowledge that you’ve brought art to hundreds of students and your entire community. Take a deep breath and enjoy it!
Follow these tips and you’re sure to put on a stellar art show! Have you hosted a show for your students’ work? Do you have any tips or tricks to share with your fellow art teachers? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Showing Off: Tips for Hosting a Student Art Show appeared first on Schoolyard Blog | Teacher Resources | School Specialty.