How to Produce Student Exhibitions

Producing Exhibitions: Celebrating Student Learning in Visual Arts

Students'  work, achievements, and learning in visual arts deserve celebration. Attending to the details of an exhibition can significantly impact the experience, whether the showing is intended for peers, the entire school, the community, or students' families. The person arranging the details of an exhibition or art display is referred to as a curator.

Teachers as Curators

Curators use their expertise to select and organize the artifacts to be presented at an event or exhibition. Teachers in the curator role can trust their experience as educators to carry out these responsibilities:

• Choose a venue or method of display that will best enhance the students' work.
• Implement a plan to share with patrons/viewers what they need or want to know about
• the students' backgrounds, the creative processes, or the context of the project(s)
• displayed.
• Publicize the exhibition and invite an audience to attend and enjoy it.

Questions and Considerations for Curating Student Art

A curating teacher elevates the quality of the students' exhibition by considering some of the following questions, while anticipating the needs of the participating students, as well as the parents, other students, and community members as consumers of art.

• Is the work best highlighted by being mounted or framed?
• At what level(s) will children be able to see the art to appreciate it?
• At what location will an appropriate-size audience be able to see the work?
• What will the viewers need to know about the context of the work to understand and
• appreciate it?
• How can I show evidence of student learning?
• Who will be positively impacted by viewing my students' work?

 To make the prospect of exhibiting student work seem more feasible for emerging teacher curators, we asked two seasoned visual arts specialists, Cindy Clark and Vicki Gehring, to share their expertise concerning student exhibitions. These specialists address both broad and specific issues involved with the logistics and preparation of an effective exhibition. We hope that their advice inspires you to step into the role of curator and that you find joy and satisfaction in highlighting your students' learning achievements in visual arts.

Considerations for a School Art Show

School art shows are wonderful. A lot of work, but so worth it! The following is a list of ideas for school art show displays.

Display art in the classroom.

At the end of an assignment, tape all art up around the room and allow all students a turn to tell about what they were trying to express, what part they are most proud of, and what, if anything, they would change. They could plan in advance what to say by answering a few questions. At the end of each presentation, the class could clap.

Display art in hallways and libraries.

Halls and libraries are attractive public places to display art. But be sure to inform parents, principal, and other teachers what the students are learning by posting a "blurb" that is short and easy to read.

Promote art projects and displays.

Use the school's website, bulletin, or newsletter. I had a link for my art class on our school website to show current projects, but I always explained the concepts expressed or reflected in the students' work. Often I included artist statements - with the artists' permission, of course.

Provide a display in the halls during parent-teacher conferences.

Take photos of student art and movies of students working on art, then create a simple PowerPoint or movie that can play on a loop for all parents to see

Keep an art portfolio for all students.

At end of term, have them choose one or two works they like best. Ask them to share with others in the class, explaining what they learned and describing, using art terminology, why they are proud of their chosen work.

Basic Principles of Exhibiting Student Work

Whether students' art is two dimensional or three dimensional, it should be displayed in a professional way that validates its importance. The art pieces should be arranged and displayed to enhance their appearance. Students' art should be displayed at the students' eye level unless the pieces are part of a display or space is severely limited.

Mounting and Matting Two-Dimensional Art

Mounting: Placing the artwork on top of the mat. When mounting artwork for display, the mounter must be aware of the adhesive. Some glues will bleed through some paper (especially copy paper). Some glues will cause the paper to wrinkle or be lumpy.

Matting: Placing the artwork behind the mat. This is accomplished by cutting an opening in the mat about 1/2 inch smaller than the size of the artwork paper.

The rule of thumb is that the mat should either have the same measurement on all four sides or have a slightly larger bottom.

Mounting can be done with construction paper or mat board that is at least one inch larger than the paper of the artwork. The larger the artwork paper, the larger the mounting paper should be. For example, artwork on 9 x 12 paper can be mounted on paper one inch larger; however, artwork on 12 x 18-inch paper looks better if the mounting paper is at least two inches larger.

If the artwork doesn't have a lot of color or is predominantly light in color, the mat can be smaller. Artwork that is bold or colorful usually looks better with a larger mat.

The color of the mounting paper should complement the artwork. For a display, place the art on different colors of matting paper. The right color will make each picture "sing" (enhance the colors and "bring it to life"). Black has become standard for matting, but it doesn't always enhance the look of student work.

Framing Two-Dimensional Art

Since the two most common sizes of drawing paper in schools are 9 x 12 and 12 x 18, two standard size picture frames will accommodate most student work: 11 x 14 and 16 x 20. Mats can be cut to fit these paper sizes and the frames used over and over.

Arranging a Two-Dimensional Display

• Mount the individual works of art as a group on a large piece of butcher paper.
• Create a background that compliments the theme of the art. For example, if the theme of the art is butterflies or birds, display them on a large piece of blue butcher paper with clouds.
• Arrange the individual works of art to complement the subject matter. For example, mountain landscapes could be displayed in the shape of mountains.

Displaying Three-Dimensional Art

The same principle applies to both three-dimensional and two-dimensional art: Present these pieces in a way that validates and enhances their appearance. Preparing the space and creating an environment to address the theme or complement the work can significantly impact the quality of the exhibition. Here are some things to consider when displaying three-dimensional art:

• If the art pieces are to be displayed on a table or desks, cover the surface with cloth or butcher paper, like using a table cloth for a nice dinner. Use a color that complements the art, as you would choose a mat for two-dimensional work. For example, sculptures that are multi-colored (made of cereal boxes and/or cans) are set off well by a black background. If the artwork has a predominant color theme, cover the table with a complementary color.
• If the art is representational, such as popsicle stick cabins or clay animals, enhance the quality of the display by creating a setting that can unify the individual pieces. In a display case consider dressing the back wall with a complementary image: for example, a complementary color or landscape background. When displaying work on a table, add rocks and trees, etc. or create a landscape scene to display on the wall behind the table.

Hopefully you can see the importance of celebrating students' achievements in visual arts through exhibitions, and the role teachers have in making these experiences possible. We hope this gives you more insights into curatorial considerations, display methods, and techniques for mounting and arranging two-dimensional and three-dimensional art pieces to enhance their presentation and impact.

Have fun! And remember to tag @everychildeveryart with pictures of your exhibition so we can celebrate your artful moments with students with you!