Show your art to grow your art

Before you begin

• This activity might not be for everyone as the artists make their artwork at home. It’s OK if only some people want to create the art.
• You’ll need a slot in your regular meetings for people to show their art and get feedback. It’s up to you when you plan this in – you might find it’s less rushed to do it at the start.
• How long this activity takes will depend on how many artists want to get involved. There’s no right or wrong length – and it’s up to you how many people show their art each week.
• Plan a date for the final exhibition well in advance, so it’s easier for parents and carers to make it.
• To get their Artist Activity Badge, young people just need to ‘show a selection of their own recent work’. Having an exhibition is a really nice way to do this, but if it’s not possible, it could be enough for everyone to show their work to the rest of the group in a meeting.

Make the art

1. Each artist should choose a film or book as the theme for their art.
   
2. Each artist should make three works of art – one should be a scene from the story, another a person or object from the story, and the third a landscape from the story. It’s up to each person which techniques they use.

3. The artists should work with the person leading the activity to agree a schedule to show their work to everyone else. If there are lots of artists, it may be a bit overwhelming (and take too long) to do it all at once.

Get some feedback

1. The artists should show the group their work. They may want to explain a bit about it, for example, who a character is – but they should keep it spoiler free in case anyone hasn’t read or seen the book or film yet!
   
2. Everyone should take a scrap of paper for each work of art they’ve seen. They should write the artist’s name at the top of the paper, and then two things they like about their work of art.
   
3. Everyone should write one idea for improvement for each work of art. They should remember to keep it kind and constructive and shouldn’t compare different artists’ work.

4. Someone should collect the scraps of paper and give them to the artist. It’s up to the artist whether they want to look at them right away or save them for later.
   
5. Each artist should show at least three works of art – their scene, their person or object, and their landscape. They may want to show more, for example, if they make any improvements or redo any pieces.

Plan the exhibition

1. The artists should decide which of their masterpieces they’d like to exhibit. It’s nice to use the ones they created and shared with the group, but they could add in anything else they’re proud of (and don’t have to share what they created in this activity, if they don’t want to).
   
2. Everyone should work together to plan a date and how they’ll set up the gallery. Do they want to end a meeting early so there’s time, replace a meeting with the exhibition, or choose another day?
   
3. Everyone should work together to make some posters or leaflets to invite parents, carers, and friends to the exhibition. They should include all of the important details such as location, time, date, and accessibility information.

4. Everyone should give out the leaflets to invite people to the exhibition. It’s up to the artists who they ask to come – they may want to think about family and friends.

Exhibition time

1. Everyone should arrive with plenty of time before the exhibition starts to help set up.
   
2. Everyone should work together to display the artwork, remembering to be careful with people’s work. It’s up to the artists what they use – they could use washi tape, string, or sticky tack.
   
3. If they want to, the artists could write a title or short description to go next to each piece.
   
4. Everyone should work together to welcome guests and show off everyone’s talents. The artists may want to explain some of their masterpieces to guests.