Art and Design · Year 5 · Graphic Design, Printmaking, and World Art · Spring Term

The Curator's Choice: Final Exhibition

Students select their best work from the year to organize and curate a final exhibition for the school community.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Art and Design - Art History and Criticism
• KS2: Art and Design - Curating and Exhibiting

About This Topic

In this final project, Year 5 students reflect on their artwork from graphic design, printmaking, and world art units to curate a school exhibition. They select pieces based on justified criteria like technical skill, originality, and emotional impact, meeting KS2 standards for art history, criticism, curating, and exhibiting. This activity builds confidence in articulating artistic decisions and connects personal growth to professional practices.

Students analyze how their collective selections narrate the class's artistic journey, from initial sketches to refined prints inspired by world cultures. They evaluate display elements such as lighting, spacing, and sequence to shape audience responses, developing evaluative skills central to art appreciation. Group discussions reveal how individual choices contribute to a cohesive story.

Active learning excels in this topic through hands-on curation and real audience interaction. When students physically arrange mock layouts, debate placements with peers, and lead practice tours, abstract concepts like perceptual influence become concrete. This collaborative process fosters ownership, critical feedback skills, and memorable insights into art's presentation.

Key Questions

1. Justify the criteria used to decide which pieces of art are most successful for an exhibition.
2. Analyze what story our collective work tells about our journey and growth as artists.
3. Evaluate how the way art is displayed (lighting, arrangement) affects how the audience perceives it.

Learning Objectives

• Justify the selection criteria for artworks in a final exhibition, referencing technical skill, concept, and presentation.
• Analyze the collective narrative of student artwork, explaining how it reflects the class's artistic development throughout the year.
• Evaluate the impact of display choices, such as lighting and arrangement, on audience perception of selected artworks.
• Design an exhibition layout that enhances the visual impact and thematic coherence of the chosen student pieces.

Before You Start

Graphic Design Principles

Why: Students need to have explored concepts like composition, color theory, and typography to select and justify graphic design pieces.

Printmaking Techniques

Why: Understanding the process and outcomes of various printmaking methods allows students to evaluate the success of their prints.

World Art Exploration

Why: Familiarity with different art styles and cultural influences from around the world provides context for selecting and discussing diverse artworks.

Key Vocabulary

Curate	To select, organize, and present a collection of items, such as artworks, for an exhibition.
Exhibition	A public display of works of art or items of interest, held in an art gallery or museum or at a trade fair.
Criteria	Principles or standards by which something may be judged or decided, used here to select artworks.
Narrative	The overall story or message conveyed by a collection of artworks when viewed together.
Presentation	The way in which artworks are displayed, including framing, lighting, and placement, to influence viewer experience.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The best artwork is simply the prettiest or most colourful.

What to Teach Instead

Success aligns with criteria like technique, concept, and growth, not just aesthetics. Peer review stations help students apply shared rubrics, shifting focus from personal taste to objective evaluation through discussion.

Common Misconception

Exhibitions are just about hanging pictures randomly.

What to Teach Instead

Thoughtful arrangement, lighting, and sequence guide viewer experience. Mock layout trials let students test and observe how changes affect perceptions, building evidence-based decisions.

Common Misconception

Only my own work matters in the exhibition.

What to Teach Instead

The collective display tells a class story of progress. Collaborative planning sessions reveal connections between pieces, helping students value group narrative over individual focus.

Active Learning Ideas

Criteria Workshop: Class Agreement

Begin with individual brainstorming of success criteria from the year's units. In small groups, students share lists, combine ideas, and rank top five criteria using sticky notes. As a class, vote and finalize the list for portfolio reviews.

30 min·Small Groups

Portfolio Review: Self-Selection

Each student sorts their year's artwork into 'select' and 'archive' piles, writing one sentence justification per selected piece using class criteria. Partners swap portfolios for feedback on justifications. Revise selections based on peer input.

45 min·Pairs

Layout Design: Mock Exhibition

Groups sketch floor plans on large paper, placing selected artworks with notes on lighting and flow. Consider viewer path and focal points. Present plans to class for critique and vote on best elements.

40 min·Small Groups

Curator's Pitch: Group Tour

Pairs rehearse a 2-minute tour script explaining their selections and display choices. Perform for whole class, noting audience reactions. Refine based on feedback before final exhibition.

30 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Museum curators, like those at the Tate Modern, select and arrange artworks to tell specific stories or explore themes for public viewing.
• Gallery owners and exhibition designers plan the layout, lighting, and flow of a space to create a particular atmosphere and guide visitor engagement with art.
• Event planners for art fairs or school open days must decide which student work to showcase and how to display it effectively to impress parents and the wider community.

Assessment Ideas

Peer Assessment

Students work in pairs to review a selection of 3-4 potential exhibition pieces from their classmates. They use a checklist with criteria like 'technical execution', 'originality', and 'impact' to score each piece and provide one written comment justifying their overall rating.

Discussion Prompt

Facilitate a whole-class discussion using the prompt: 'Imagine our exhibition is a book. What chapter titles would we give to different sections of our work, and why?' Guide students to connect artwork groupings to the units of study and their artistic journey.

Quick Check

As students finalize their chosen pieces, ask them to write down on a sticky note: 'One piece I chose and why it meets my exhibition criteria.' Collect these to gauge individual understanding of selection justification.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do Year 5 students justify artwork for exhibitions?

Guide students to use class criteria like skill, originality, and impact. They write justifications linking pieces to learning objectives, such as printmaking techniques or cultural influences. Peer feedback rounds strengthen arguments, while teacher modelling of curator statements shows professional language. This builds reflective habits for lifelong art practice, around 60 words.

What display techniques enhance art exhibitions?

Consider lighting to highlight textures, spacing for breathing room, and sequence for narrative flow. Low plinths suit Year 5 scale; labels add context without overwhelming. Test with phone torches for lighting effects and classmate walkthroughs for flow. These choices make abstract evaluation skills concrete and audience-focused.

How can active learning improve curating skills in Art and Design?

Active methods like group layout mock-ups and peer tours let students experiment with real decisions, seeing immediate impacts on perception. Collaborative critiques build justification skills, while handling actual pieces develops spatial awareness. This surpasses worksheets by creating ownership and excitement, aligning with KS2 emphasis on practical criticism through 70 words of engagement.

How to assess curating and exhibition projects?

Use rubrics for criteria justification (20%), collective story analysis (30%), display evaluation (30%), and presentation delivery (20%). Evidence from planning sketches, justifications, and peer feedback logs. Self-reflections on growth tie to standards. Celebrate with photos of the event to reinforce success across skills.