How do you exhibit the work of 1000 art students? That is the question my colleague and I ask ourselves every year! Starting in September, I squirrel away student artwork with the annual spring school art show in mind. Just about a month before the show, the piles of artwork, fragile clay pieces, and 3D work begin to encroach on the general workspace in the art room. And in my mind the clutter grows as well: 1. How will we choose what to show? 2. Will there be enough room? 3. Do I have enough time to get this together? 4. If I ask for parent help, when will I meet with them? 5. Will I survive another school art show? Loudly and clearly, the answers are as follows: #1 – #4: We’ll see! #5: YES!
This year, our art show took place on Wednesday, April 9 from 6pm – 7:30pm. We were also open during first block the next morning so teachers could guide their classes through the show. Together, my colleague and I exhibited hundreds of works on paper, hundreds of clay pieces and thousands of images of digital artwork. This year, with the help of our maintenance staff, we erected a “projection booth”, to show digital art from a iPad camera roll as well as the artwork posted on our Artsonia online gallery. This is a great way to ensure that every student has art in the show and allows for us to show digital work without the added expense of printing. I appointed a few “Online Gallery Guides” to staff the projector, asking families which gallery they would like to see and connecting them to it.
I also invited the MiscoeMakerCrew to show the 3D printing work they have been doing. We have been meeting once per week after school and have created many design-to-build models with our MakerBot Replicator II 3D printer. The MakerCrew arranged a table with the 3D printer actively printing and a video showing our progress since receiving the printer through a grant. Needless to say, it was a huge hit!
These two technological additions to our art show rounded out the display and in fact, represented more and more of what we are doing in the art room today. This is not your grandmother’s art show!
Here are some photos from the night:
