Introduction
Congratulations! You've been hired as the museum curator for a brand new art museum. We are expecting thousands of people to attend this opening show next month (no pressure)! The only problem is... the museum has no art yet. As the museum curator, you're responsible for choosing a theme for the opening show and ten works of art to place in it. Hundreds of museums around the world have generously offered you access to their collections. You may choose any pieces from any of these museums. Good luck!
Task
Art Curators are in charge of putting art exhibitions together.
They are responsible for...
- organizing museum collections
- selecting art to display in the museum
- organizing exhibitions in public places or in galleries
- working with artists
- speaking to the public
- raising money to fund projects
You only need to complete the first two of those tasks to start off your new art museum.
You will need to choose a theme for the exhibition and ten works of art to display. Make sure you also get information about the artwork, like the title, artist name, and when it was made, so that the museum can make placards (small signs that go next to the artwork).
Process
You'll be creating a PowerPoint presentation for your exhibition. Start by choosing a theme.
Your theme can be anything you choose, but here are some ideas to get you started:
- Drawings that all have the same object in them, like cats or beaches.
- Paintings that make you feel a specific emotion, like joy or sadness.
- Artwork that shows the culture of a specific place or time period, like Japan or ancient Egypt.
- Art made with a unique material, like trash or food.
- Art about a social issue that's important to you.
- Abstract artworks that all use similar colors or shapes.
On the first slide of your PowerPoint, make a title slide that includes the name of your new museum, your theme, and your name. It might look something like this:
Next, start looking for artwork that fits your theme! Google Arts & Culture has a website with links to museum collections from all over the world that you can find HERE. The website WikiArt (HERE) is also great for searching for specific types of art, as all the artworks are "tagged" based on content and style.
Once you find artwork you want to add to your exhibition, make a PowerPoint slide with...
- A photo of the artwork
- The name of the artwork
- The name of the artist
- What year it was made
- What museum you're "borrowing" it from
- Why you picked that artwork
Your slide might look something like this:
When you're done, you should have 11 slides: your initial title slide with your theme, and the rest with the artwork photos and information.
After submitting your exhibition on Teams, create a poster to advertise your new art exhibition!
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on your PowerPoint presentation which should list your theme and ten artworks that fit that theme.
Your title slide must include:
- The name of your museum
- Your name
- The theme that you chose
Each artwork slide MUST include:
- A photo of the artwork
- The name of the artwork
- The name of the artist
- What year it was made
- What museum you're "borrowing" it from
- Why you picked the artwork
When you're done, upload your finished PowerPoint to Teams.
Conclusion
Now that you've collected all the artwork for your exhibition, all that's left is to wait and see what your visitors think. Hopefully your museum opening will be a success! While you're waiting, create a poster to advertise your new art exhibition. You want it to be eye-catching so that you get lots of visitors when your museum opens. There are some examples from real museums below - notice how they all tell you who or what the exhibition is about and use bold colors to get your attention.
Once all the exhibitions are posted, you'll be able to visit your classmates' exhibitions and take the visitor survey HERE (tip: don't forget to write down the names of the museums while you visit!)
Credits
Adapted from: Curator Web Quest - Home (weebly.com)