Displaying Children's Art from the Mini Atelier

                        Organizing Art Work - now that the atelier is underway and the children are producing art you should have a plan for displaying as well as organizing how to send it home. If you don't have a plan then the art will pile up on any surface. I want the children to know that their work is valued and so  we spend time talking about display options. I thought I would share some of the methods that I have found successful in my space.
Drying Rack - we have a 20 shelf metal drying rack for wet art. On days when that fills up the children lay the papers in the hall against the wall to dry.
Clothesline - I have a 12 foot clothesline in the hall outside of my classroom. I used string, push pins and mini-clothespegs and attach it to the bottom of display boards. The children hang dry art on the clothesline until they decide to take it home or give it to a friend.
Gallery Wall- A collection of used frames, with the glass removed, are attached to walls and windows using 3M removable velcro. We use tacky gum to attach the art to the window or wall.
Painter's Tape - for quick and creative displays  painters tape is used every day because the art can be attached to pretty much anything;  to the edge of shelves, wooden hollow blocks, backs of chairs,...
Shelving - For 3D art the children have two choices; either the top of our shelves which run under the windows (about 30 feet long x 1 foot deep) or on top of our cubby shelves.
Hallway Display - We have four boards in the hall outside of our classroom. Two are set aside for documentation and a third is for writing samples. The fourth board is used for display. 
Pop Up Display- I love this temporary display and use it for special occasions like the end of a project when we invite family and friends for a celebration and need extra display space. We stack boxes of top of each other with two sided tape and then the children mat their art and attach to the side of the boxes. It goes into the school foyer so that guess are greeted by our pop up art display as they arrive at school. Afterwards the boxes are recycled into the classroom for play i.e. blocks, art, drama.
Driftwood Tree - Our administrator made a tree out of driftwood and we usually hang small art projects on it. For example when we did a bird inquiry the children hung water colour birds and another  time we did a kindness inquiry and the children made hearts with messages on one side.
Magnetic Wall - I have not done this yet but I got this idea from Joanne Babalis' new art studio at Transforming Our Learning. She painted one wall the same colour as her other walls but it is magnetic. Then children could just use mini magnets for a quick display!! Now that the paints come in a wide range of colours we are able to match with existing wall colours.
Sending work home - we have a basket near the door for children to put art work which is going home. It gets folded and put inside the students communication folders. If it is too large the kids roll and put an elastic around it to fit inside the back pack side pocket. 3D art either gets carried or put into a reusable plastic bag.
If you missed other posts about a Mini-Artelier In Public School here are the links
5 Steps To A Successful Mini-Atelier In Public School - A Reggio Inspired Program
5 Must Have Materials To Add To Your Mini Atelier
More Art Supplies To Add To Your Mini Atelier
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