Displaying Our Art: Creating an Exhibition

Active learning works for this topic because students need to experience the role of a curator firsthand to understand the deliberate choices behind art presentation. Moving artworks physically and discussing their placement builds spatial reasoning and critical thinking, which static discussions cannot match.

• Year 5
• The Arts
• 4 activities
• 30 min–45 min

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Exhibition Layout Design: Gallery Walk

Students sketch potential exhibition layouts on graph paper, considering traffic flow and focal points. They then present their designs to a small group for peer feedback on clarity and impact.

Prepare & details

Where is the best place to hang this artwork so people can see it clearly?

Facilitation Tip: During the 'Shoebox Gallery' activity, circulate with guiding questions like 'What story does this grouping tell?' instead of giving answers.

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Curator's Statement Creation: Label Writing Workshop

In pairs, students draft concise 'curator's statements' or labels for 2-3 of their artworks, explaining the theme, materials, or process. They focus on using clear, engaging language suitable for an audience.

Prepare & details

How can we group artworks together to tell a story or show a theme?

Facilitation Tip: In the 'Gallery Flow' simulation, stand at the entrance yourself to model how a viewer experiences the space before students start arranging.

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Mock Exhibition Setup: Wall Space Challenge

Using masking tape on a classroom wall, students mark out 'hanging spaces' for their artworks. They then discuss and decide collaboratively which artworks best fit together in a designated section.

Prepare & details

What information should we include next to each artwork for the audience?

Facilitation Tip: For 'The Label Writer' peer teaching, provide a template with word banks to scaffold precise language and avoid vague descriptions.

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Audience Perspective: Artwork Placement Debate

Students individually select one of their artworks and write down where they think it should be hung and why. They then share their reasoning in small groups, debating the best position from an audience's viewpoint.

Prepare & details

Where is the best place to hang this artwork so people can see it clearly?

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teach this topic by modeling curatorial thinking yourself. Use think-alouds to show how you decide where to place an artwork, what connections to draw between pieces, and how to guide a viewer’s eye. Research shows that explicit modeling of expert thinking, followed by guided practice, leads to deeper understanding than open-ended exploration alone. Avoid rushing to 'correct' student arrangements early on; instead, ask questions that prompt reflection.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students thinking like curators. They will justify why they group certain artworks together, consider how viewers move through a space, and explain their choices using art terminology. You’ll see evidence of this in their arrangements, discussions, and written labels.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the 'Shoebox Gallery' activity, watch for students arranging artworks randomly or purely based on color and size.

What to Teach Instead

Guide them to ask, 'What story do I want to tell?' and use the shoebox walls to create deliberate pathways, like a beginning, middle, and end.

Common Misconception

During the 'Gallery Flow' simulation, watch for students ignoring how viewers enter or exit the space.

What to Teach Instead

Have them physically walk the path themselves, then mark the entrance and exit points on the wall with sticky notes before rearranging.

Assessment Ideas

Peer Assessment

After the 'Gallery Flow' simulation, have students work in small groups to arrange artworks on a designated wall space. Each group presents their arrangement to another group, explaining their choices for placement and grouping. The visiting group provides feedback using a simple checklist: 'Are artworks hung at a good height?', 'Do the grouped artworks make sense together?', 'Is the arrangement visually appealing?' Collect these checklists to assess understanding of curatorial choices.

Quick Check

After the 'Label Writer' peer teaching activity, provide students with a sample artwork image and a brief artist statement. Ask them to write two sentences for a didactic label: one sentence identifying the artwork and artist, and a second sentence explaining a key element or theme for the audience. Collect these to check for clarity and conciseness in their writing.

Discussion Prompt

During the 'Collaborative Investigation' activity, pose the question: 'Imagine you have only one wall to display three of your artworks. Which three would you choose and why? How would you arrange them to make people look at them in a specific order?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their reasoning and listen to different approaches to curation.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to create a digital slideshow of their 'Gallery Flow' arrangement with text overlays explaining their curatorial choices.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems for students to use when justifying their artwork placements, such as 'This artwork fits here because...'
• Deeper: Invite students to research a real curator’s approach and compare it to their own by creating a short presentation.