The Art Exhibition

Last week was chaotic as everyone at kindergarten were rushing to finish the preparation of the exhibition. Children were excited too, because they had been fully involved. We had asked them to brainstorm a name for the exhibition. They came up with plenty of good ideas, and we eventually chose the name "It's Just Art" for its simplicity. And then, we printed proper invites for parents and friends in the community. We scheduled two viewing sessions, one in the afternoon for children and their families, the other in the evening for adults only.

The major task, however, was displaying the artworks.
Some teachers wrote biography for the young artists; some documented the child voice in relation to the particular artwork or the creative process. I decided to collate a folder to talk about the artists, their works and their inspirations. On top of that, I printed labels with names of artists and titles of the artworks. We wanted to present the artworks nicely to show our respect for the young artists.

For the same reason of respect, I debated with myself how much accessories or ornaments should I use in the display. Visually, it would be nice to decorate around the artwork, but the decoration should not be too overpowering or overwhelming, as the main focus is the artwork created by the children. Eventually, I decided to separate the clay artworks of children into three groups. For the clay figures and animals, I placed scented tea light candles, crystal, flowers among them on a nice velvety tablecloth, appealing to the senses of sight, smell and touch. The second group of clay slab carving were framed. And the clay Maori indigenous waka (canoes) were displayed inside a glass cabinet, decorated with native flowers, pohutukawa, native plant, i.e. flax and some pebbles.

The afternoon session was a great success, attended by grandparents, parents, siblings and friends. They were awed by the efforts we put in to create an "art gallery" with a professional look. Most importantly, they were impressed by the quality of children's artworks. I believe they did see the artist in every child. I think the exhibition has communicated well to parents the value of art in the kindy programme.

The only regret was the evening session with embarrassing turnout, especially all the teachers had brought in refreshment and nice nibbles; and a parent who is a music teacher had volunteered to sing for the night to create the mood and atmosphere for the event. It made us realize how difficult it is for parents of young children to attend social events in the evening. Something to bear in mind when we plan for future events. I hope these information will help whoever planning an art show for children.