Putting on an Art Show!

My students and I have had some amazing art shows through the years, no 2 have been alike. As inspiration, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites and walk you through the whole process of the way we do it. Then you can create your own art shows adding in your own ideas and any your kids think would be fun. Putting on an art show lets your kids know how much you value them as artists and admire the art they create.

At my art school Creative Art for Young Children, the kids and I put on an Art Show at the end of every session for their parents, family, and friends. This is comprised of artwork that is now ready to be shown to the world in an exhibition celebrating these fine young artists full of curiosity and wonder.

It totally blows my mind when I see all the artwork from so many different art projects coming together for a grand finale, representing all the fabulous work created by my students, over an entire session. Even after 45 years of putting on art shows the thrill of it all never gets old. And we don’t want just any old art show, we want to make it super fun for everyone, kids and adults alike.

Some of My Favorite Art Shows

During one spring session, while studying POND LIFE, we sculpted clay turtles, so for the art show we covered one of our round tables with blue construction paper to make a pond. Over it, we hung birds, cotton ball clouds, and even fairies (for a little bit of fantasy). Then all around the edges we put strips of green paper sticking up for grass and filled our pond with lily pads, tissue paper flowers, and cut-out paper fish. The kids placed their turtles in the pond and I had them scrunch down and view the pond through the grass and pretend they were turtles, too.

Another year for the winter session we studied PENGUINS. The kids painted the cutest penguins, each one completely different, on big poster boards. During the art show, they held them up in front of them so all you could see were penguins with kids’ feet. Two of my friends are music teachers and they were kind enough to play some lively music with a guitar and a drum so the kids could dance like the little penguin in the animated movie Happy Feet. It’s about a penguin who loved to dance which seemed very strange to all the other penguins. In the end, he saves the day because of his happy dancing feet. To see the kids looking like penguins with human feet dancing to the music brought so much joy to everyone, it was quite a sight to behold.

Then there was the time we did a whole series of different art projects while studying ANCIENT EGYPT. For this art show, we had portraits of King Tut wearing the solar nemes headdress painted with blue and gold stripes. Some kids added the vulture and cobra on his forehead, crossed his arms over his chest, and placed his crook and flail in his hands—all symbols of King Tut as a powerful pharaoh. And on another wall were the most exquisite paintings of desert scenes with pyramids, palm trees, giant Egyptian gods, goddesses, and people in their ancient attire. They were posed with their chest and shoulders in front view, and their hips, legs, and feet in side view, on big poster boards. We had sculpted clay hippopotamuses painted blue in dioramas, representing the earthenware hippos found in Egyptian tombs, and a refrigerator box that we turned into a pyramid. The kids made pendant necklaces like the ones worn by the pharaohs. They sculpted the pendants out of model magic, painted them gold, and added different shapes of dyed pasta for beads. Some kids even strung multiple layers of pasta “beads” into very elaborate jewelry pieces. They were really exquisite to look at and it was easy to imagine how it must have felt for an ancient Egyptian pharaoh to wear something so magnificent and out of this world.

Before Show Day

Preparing for an art show can be really fun. Think about the artwork that you will be featuring and come up with some fun ideas of how you want to present it, as I did in some of my examples above. And art shows don’t have to be limited to museums, galleries, and classrooms, you can have one in your home, or how about outside in the garden? What about hanging mobiles in a tree? There are so many possibilities, even an art show for a single child can light up their life.

Framing Artwork

Before show day I recommend that you frame all the artwork to show how much you respect each artist and what they have created. I frame with construction paper, trying out different colors to find the one(s) that complement the colors I see in the artwork. You will find the artwork really pops once framed. Back when I first started teaching 3-year-olds it was the process, not the product, that was important. Then one day, I framed some of their paintings. Once framed, their splotches of paint looked so surprisingly different—splotches “framed” became brilliant compositions. Each painting, so beautifully unique, no one else could have made it other than the child who created it. Even a scribble drawing looks surprisingly different when it is framed.

Hanging Artwork

I like to get all the artwork up on the walls before the kids arrive, so they will be surprised. I hang all the art so each art project gets its own wall. This is my favorite part because I love how hanging them together amplifies both their similarities and differences. The diversity of detail really shines through. Looking at a group of artwork from a single project (where the subject matter is the same—but they’ve all gone off in different directions), is a very different experience than standing in front of a wall of different subject matters, mediums, and materials. Here’s an example:

One of our art projects is The Life Cycle of the Red Poppy. You can see it in our book Your Own World. Standing in front of a wall filled with all the kids’ different interpretations of this beautiful flower is extremely impressive. You can see them all talking at once about the same subject, with the same color palette, and yet each one stands alone revealing rather dramatically the ability of the creative spirit to come up with something entirely new.

For example, some kids just painted their poppies in their bud form with the long hairs all along the stem and bud, another added two bugs wrestling that you need a magnifying glass to see. Someone else painted yellow splotches and called them puddles of sunshine. Then there was the little girl who drew fairy houses on the leaves. I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

So they all drew poppies and painted them with watercolors but that’s where the similarity ended. To see all the different interpretations of a single art project hanging together in unison is truly an eye-opening experience. A child’s ability to express themselves creatively, even within the confines of conformity, is a true testament to the power of their imagination and their ability to access an endless resource of creative potential.

Day of the Show

As soon as your kids walk through the door and see all their artwork hanging on the walls, they will instantly know this isn’t going to be an ordinary day. They will feel a special something as they sit in a space filled with their art. When my kids first arrive they are in awe, it is written all over their faces. Savor these moments and remember this is huge for them. This kind of recognition fosters a sense of self-worth for these impressionable young artists.

You can give them plenty of time to take it all in before asking them to help with the last-minute preparations. For me this entails: making sure the room is cleaned up, hanging up any pictures that just got completed, arranging any sculptures for display, and setting up the snack table.

The Snack Table

A snack table is a great addition to any art show. My kids think it is one of the best parts of our shows and a great way to include them in part of the preparation. When it comes to setting up the snack table I can always find a lot of eager helpers. And of course, we don’t want just any ordinary snack table, it needs to be a work of art in and of itself.

One year our table morphed into a mountain with caves to go along with our CAVEMAN ART. All along the front edge of the table and reaching to the floor we hung a big painted piece of cardboard with 3 big-arched holes cut out for cave entrances. They had so much fun crawling on their hands and knees into the caves and under the table where they actually got to draw on the walls in places I had lined with brown paper.

Then there was the time our snack table became what every picnicker doesn’t want—bugs crawling all over the food. The kids took an assortment of plastic bugs and hid them under the napkins, in the basket of cookies, and in the bouquet of flowers—they were crawling all around the snack table. Why bugs you may ask? Well, you have to admit it was a fun kid thing to do but it also went along with all our BUG ART!

And when our art took on the theme of Outer Space and Astronauts we had freeze-dried ice cream and juice pouches with straws so when we traveled to the moon with our MOONSCAPE ART we would have something to eat and drink.

As you can see the snack table is always a big hit.

Story Time

Just before your guests arrive, I suggest you gather your kids together for a story. Stories are always good, they set the stage and get everyone on the same page.

Our favorite books to read on art show day are: When Pigasso Met Mootisse and Bonjour Mr. Satie. They are both fun books based on the rivalry between Picasso and Matisse and arguments on who is the better artist. They deliver a great message about how each artist has their own style, a style that is unique, and one style is no better than the other, they’re just different.

After reading these books, or other fun books that would go along with an art show, look around the room at all the art hanging on the walls and say something like: “You know what? Each of you is an artist with your own style just like Picasso and Matisse.” Then talk about the different styles of art you see all around the room. For example, one child might make their art really busy and fun, another might like to take their time to organize it just so, while someone else might like to have theirs tell a story with all kinds of made-up characters. And then there will always be the one kid who makes their art super simple and abstract. One work of art or style is never better than another—they are all special in their own way.

Guests Arrive

The kids get so excited when they start to see our guests arrive through the glass of our front door. They run to open it and say, “Welcome to the ART SHOW!” Then they take their family and friends around the room to show them all their art. This is the time for everyone to socialize and enjoy each other's company and eat from the snack table.

The Kids Take Center Stage

In my class, we have a 2’ long carved wooden paintbrush that has been hanging out in art class for 40 years. It only comes out on art show day. The rest of the time it just sits on a shelf in the closet, patiently waiting for when it can be held by a child who believes in magic, once again. It possesses miraculous comforting powers much like a cuddly teddy bear.

When it feels like everyone has had their fill of food and socializing I announce it is time for the Magic Brush. Everyone quiets down, brings a chair over to a section of the room, sits down, and waits with anticipation. I say, “Who wants to go first?” Many hands go up, I close my eyes and pick the first child to talk about their art. Then I hand them the magic brush and they take center stage. We take their art off the walls and I hold it up so everyone can see.

This is an important moment for the kids, standing in front of everyone using the magic brush to point to their art and talking about it—it’s huge. I feel that the magic brush helps give them the courage to speak while so many eyes are on them.

But giving your kids something they can use to point to their artwork doesn’t have to be a big wooden brush, anything that feels “magical” will do, I bet you can come up with something creative.

It is fun to hear what they have to say as they point to their art with the magic brush. Some are at a loss for words which is totally okay. If this happens to you try reassuring the child by whispering, “No worries, you don’t have to say anything, your picture can do all the talking. Then ask them if they want you to tell them what you like about their art. If they say yes, you might say something like how it makes you feel happy or you can talk about the composition, the way they signed their name so creatively, how they used cool colors, or if they let the paint drip you can talk about what an interesting effect that makes. Then it’s fun to open up the discussion to everyone else in the audience and see what they have to say about the art—or if they have any questions. Questions are often just what the artist needs to get them going to start talking about their art.

Then again you might be surprised that some kids have quite a lot to say if given an audience of really good listeners, even about the most abstract works of art. I remember one 3-year-old going on and on about every little mark in his scribble drawing. Every dot, line, and scribbled image was something quite specific and he wasn’t a bit shy in telling us what each one was as he took the time to point them all out with the magic brush. It always amazes me how an unidentifiable series of scribbled lines can actually be a house, a dog, a mommy, a daddy, or anything that pops into their imagination. This is a rare gift reserved for the youngest of human beings.

Time to Go Home

Once all your artists have had a chance to personally share their art they can gather up all their drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures and go home with their family. For me this is bittersweet, I don’t mind staying to clean up so I can revel in all that just happened, but sad it had to end. I’m also grateful to have taken part in the lives of so many wonderful artists. I got to watch them work, see the results and celebrate their accomplishments with their family and friends. But these are now just memories that go home with me as I walk out the door—memories of the great times we had together, interlaced with vivid visions of their art.

What Makes Kid Art So Special

Art created by children often turns reality upside down. Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.”

In my classroom, I see kids do this every day. When drawing a picture they may leave out some detail because they are paying attention to something else they find more important. Sometimes they make it much bigger than its actual size which turns everything topsy-turvy. What we are seeing is what is important to the child. This is what I call real. And kids do this instinctively—I think this is just what Georgia was talking about. Kids have a lot to teach us if we take the time to listen and observe.