Choosing a unique art show venue outside of your school creates a novel and exciting experience for your young artists. It also expands the audience for your students’ work and exposes your program to a wider segment of the community, including potential supporters and stakeholders. Partnering with community organizations and having your art show outside of your school makes the culmination of all of their hard work special and makes your students feel like professional artists.
Reap the benefits of hosting your art show at a fresh location in the community!
Hosting your art show in the halls of your school is usually the easier option. However, stepping outside of your school campus bubble can truly benefit your students and your art program. Aside from the positives listed above, hosting your art show at a community venue brings other people to help hang and take down your show. The business or organization will likely also promote your show. For families and students, it connects the visual arts with tangible careers in the community. Let’s take a look at nine unique locations to consider for your next art show!
1. District Administration Building
Place student artwork directly in the path of district decision-makers. Those with the power to influence budgets and approve new courses will experience the impact of your art program firsthand. This daily exposure to the creativity and skills fostered in your classroom can powerfully advocate for the value of art education.
2. City Hall
Showcase your students’ artwork in your local government building so the broader community will see the importance of your art program. Students will take pride in having their work displayed in a prestigious location. A gallery night will allow families and students to personally meet their city’s officials.
3. Local Park
Hold your art show amidst nature’s beauty in a local park. The Impressionists loved creating en plein air but outdoor spaces can be wonderful for viewing art as well. Take advantage of natural light to enhance the artwork. Families will enjoy the relaxed, outdoor setting, and the open space allows for larger crowds.
4. Community Art League
Many art leagues have a dedicated gallery space. Your students will benefit from professional hanging systems and lighting. This collaboration connects your school and students with experienced artists. Nothing motivates students to up their game like telling them accomplished artists will be examining their work!
5. Community College
Hosting your art show at the community college exposes them to a post-secondary environment. Many community college art departments have a small gallery space but there are usually plenty of other larger lobby spaces available too. Nearby classrooms or studio spaces work perfectly for workshops, demonstrations, or blacklight galleries. As students see their best work hanging prominently in an institution of higher learning, they will naturally envision themselves continuing their education and thriving in college.
6. Library
Literacy isn’t just for Language Arts! Visual arts is all about visual literacy and a partnership with your local library is a natural connection. After all, every great art room has a library, and your local library should have a space for student art. The library offers a quiet, studious environment that encourages close examination of artwork. This public space attracts a diverse crowd with lots of community events, ensuring a steady flow of visitors. Libraries also do a really good job of advertising their events, guaranteeing built-in publicity for your students.
7. Historic Buildings
Choose a historic building or site for a truly unique backdrop. This adds a sense of grandeur and importance to the student artwork. Many buildings rent out their space and property on weekends for events such as weddings. However, they are often available during the week.
8. Local Museum
Partnering with a local museum elevates your art show to a professional level. This venue provides top-notch display facilities and climate control to protect the artwork. This location lends credibility and prestige to your students’ work. Think outside of the box and reach out to any type of museum—not just an art museum! The type of museum you partner with can also dictate your art show theme.
9. Feeder Schools
Vertical alignment and partnerships across grade levels can be tremendously beneficial for everyone. When older students show their work in an elementary or middle school, the younger students see quality work that they will want to make one day. The older students will feel a surge of pride as they showcase their work in their old stomping grounds. When you display elementary artwork at the high school, it lightens the mood and can help older students remember the earnest joy of creating. This builds a stronger art program across the district and shows students that art is a lifelong journey.
Stay focused on practical art show considerations.
Choosing an unconventional venue for your art show is exciting, but demands careful planning. Fortunately, there are many people, often who work at the location you are partnering with, who are more than willing to help you plan and execute!
Here are some things to consider as you choose and plan your venue:
For outdoor locations, do you have an inclement weather plan?
Do you have access to restrooms and ample parking?
Do you have clear signage to find the event?
Are you allowed to offer refreshments in the space?
What are the associated costs, including furniture rentals, refreshments, prizes, and transportation?
How far in advance can you set up, and how much time do you have for takedown?
How will you safely transport, display, and light the artwork?
Let your community help you with your art show.
Putting together an epic art show seems overwhelming. It is okay to ask for help and advice from colleagues. The Art of Ed Community is a tremendous resource with immeasurable collective wisdom. Delegate as many tasks as possible to your Art Club, students, colleagues, and friends. Get a peek behind the scenes of how Sarah Krajewski and Jenn Russell put on their art shows. Gain their best Art Show Secrets to help you put on your best art show yet!
Turning your unconventional art show vision into reality requires a bit more consideration and planning. However, the benefits are always worth it! Hosting your art show off-campus increases the visibility of your students’ artwork, your art program, and the value of art education as a whole. Look into partnering with a historic site, your city hall, the local library, or a feeder school to curate a truly memorable and impactful art show experience for families, students, administrators, and other community members.
Tell us! Have you ever hosted an art show outside of your school?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
When touched, the hypersensitive makahiya plant folds its minuscule leaflets inward, protecting itself from any potential threat.
Florence Solis draws on this defensive response in an ethereal collection of portraits. Beginning with digital collages that meld figures and delicate, organic ornaments, the Filipino-Canadian artist translates the imagined forms to the canvas. Shrouded in dainty, beaded veils or entwined with botanicals, each protagonist appears bound and concealed, their bodies and faces obscured by hair or grass.
“Sirena” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 inches
As Solis sees it, the figures may be restricted, but they’re also able to find strength and transformation. “Filipino women, much like the makahiya, have been taught to yield, to soften, to take up less space,” she says. “And yet, beneath this quietness lies an undeniable force—one that persists, adapts, and reclaims space in its own way.”
Working in saturated, often single-color palettes, Solis renders figures who appear to harness magical powers. She references Filipino folklore and the belief in the power of the everyday to lead to the divine, painting women rooted in tradition and myth, yet determined to see their transformation through.
The vivid portraits shown here will be on view at EXPO CHICAGO this week with The Mission Projects. Find more from Solis on Instagram.
“Sa Lupa (On Ground)” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 inches“Totem” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 inches“Makahiya VIII” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches“Makahiya VII” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches“Alay (Offering)” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches
The following is excerpted from Nancy R. Hiller’s “Making Things Work: Tales from A Cabinetmaker’s Life.” Hiller’s funny and occasionally delightfully crass stories tell of her years as a professional cabinetmaker who relished both the highs and the lows of the job.
“How much time do you spend in the shop, and how much in writing?” asked a friend of a friend who’d waved me over to sit with him at a holiday party. He’d noticed my bio in the list of contributors to an area magazine and knew I’d written a couple of books.
“I pretty much write in my spare time,” I said. “Mainly on weekends, if work in the shop doesn’t require my presence there. The books in effect pay nothing. The magazines at least pay something, but it’s not enough to cover my overhead and operating expenses, let alone live on.”
When I really cranked out articles for the local magazine where this acquaintance had seen my bio, I could make about $15 an hour. But this calculus relates to net income, not the gross revenue required to maintain a business – and certainly not my cabinetmaking business. It doesn’t matter whether I’m writing, sleeping, or working billable hours; a host of fixed and related expenses still have to be paid.
“Oh, please,” he said dismissively. “What kind of overhead and operating expenses do you have? You work from home and have no employees.”
I was taken aback. Why did he think he knew anything about my business? We scarcely knew each other. Did he think I was posturing as a professional while secretly just “crafting” in my garage?
“You know,” he added, rolling his eyes. “I used to do what you do.” He’d mentioned once that he had worked briefly as a carpenter during what he called his hippie youth; as part of this personal exploration he’d tried his hand at cabinetmaking before concluding that, while he loved the work itself, doing it for a living involved more tedium and less creative freedom than he could bear. Some years later he got a job as assistant art director at a major magazine and worked his way up to a well-paid position, from which he had recently retired. He pushed his chair back from the table and walked away without giving me a chance to respond.“
“Tosser,” I said under my breath as he sought out someone else to use as sounding board for his oversized ego. Then again, I realized, I had no idea how I would have responded had he stayed. If he really was that ignorant of the costs involved in operating a microenterprise – aboveboard, mind you, not under the table – a meaningful, non-defensive response would take some time for me to articulate, not to mention a willingness on his part to listen.
I grabbed his unused napkin and pulled a pen out of my bag. The numbers were fresh in my head; I’d spent the previous weekend going through the year’s accounts to get a jump on tax preparation.
“Overhead and operating expenses, 2014,” I wrote at the top of the napkin. That pompous jerk was not going to get away so easily. Between bites of salad Ilisted the categories I could remember, adding a few explanatory notes:
• “Business insurance (coverage of shop building and contents, liability, goods in transit, etc.) • Equipment rental (e.g., trailers for delivering large jobs) • Health insurance. (Many people whose health insurance premiums are subsidized by their employer have NO CLUE what it costs. Mine is $506 a month for so-called “wellness coverage,” i.e. I have to pay for almost everything out of pocket, and with a $6,000 deductible. My husband and I are both self-employed, so we each pay through the nose.) • Permits (e.g., for parking in our highly regulated city) • Accountant’s fees • Mileage
At this point I realized I had lapsed into completely irrational behavior. He would never read such a list, not to mention the parenthetical notes, which were likely to grow in length now that I was getting warmed up. But perhaps the sheer number of items listed would at least impress on him that I run a business with real-world operating expenses. So I continued writing.
• Packing & shipping • Website-related expenses • Office supplies & printing • Subscriptions to trade publications • Disposal of non-recyclable, non-compostable shop & jobsite waste • Phone & internet at shop • Dues to professional organizations • Shop utilities (electricity & water; the insurance industry now pretty much refuses to cover woodworking shops that are heated by means of a woodstove, and there is no way I’m going to run a business like this one without insurance) • Repair & maintenance of equipment; replacement blades, cutters, etc. • Bank charges (e.g., the cost of checks) for business account • Business travel expenses; I do sometimes teach, speak, & deliver furniture out of state. (These are not vacations, like those publishing-world boondoggles you brag about at cocktail parties.They are bona fide working trips.) • Business tangible property tax • Professional photography for the portfolio, when I can afford it • Taxes related to payroll: state unemployment tax, Medicare & Social Security matching taxes, etc. Years ago, my accountant advised me to organize my business as a Subchapter-S corporation instead of continuing as a self-employed proprietor.”
My hand was cramping, so I put down the pen and took a sip of cabernet. The cheese board at this bash was always a vision of abundance. I added a wedge of crumbly aged cheddar and some crackers to my plate – along with the wine, a perfect combination. By this time I had completely covered the napkin on both sides, but I sensed that I was far from finished. Grabbing a couple more napkins from the buffet, I got back to work.
“All of the above (and more) must be covered before I pay myself a penny. And this is not including investment in new tools, machinery, etc., which amounts to thousands of dollars. In 2014 the above expenses came to just over $20,000. I don’t know…maybe that’s chump change to you. Not to me.”
“And yes, my shop is behind my house. But I no longer live in the house. I had to move out during the recession, which absolutely gutted my business. During the worst year, my gross sales (i.e.,including materials) were $17,000. I slashed the overhead and everything else to the bone. I relied on my credit card to pay lots of bills, a debt that took the following two years to pay off. I’m incredibly lucky that my boyfriend at the time – now my husband – invited me to move in with him; at least that way I no longer had to pay for all my living expenses on one decimated income.”
“That year from hell, I obviously could not even pay myself minimum wageafter covering the overheads. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t just go out and get a couple of jobs – you know, bagging groceries, cleaning toilets at the office supply store. (BTW, there were none of those jobs available. Because recession.) Believe me, I thought about it. One friend, a nationally recognized furniture artisan, confided that he was seriously contemplating a job flipping burgers because he wasn’t getting orders. Another put his business in a holding pattern and relied on his wife to support him (he was lucky she could). But I calculated that doing spec pieces and writing would be a worthwhile investment in future business opportunities, even if I had to rely on my credit card to make that investment. Thank God my bet paid off.”
“I have been renting my house out to cover the mortgage & property taxes. You probably think this means I have Even. More. Income. But no. Renting the house increased the monthly payment because I no longer qualified for the homestead tax exemption. Also, insurance rates for a rented property are quite a bit higher than for one that’s owner-occupied. So the income from rent just barely covers the monthly payment. But at least I still have my shop, for which I am profoundly grateful.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I could, in fact, make more money if I only worked in the shop seven days a week and didn’t do the writing. But going back and forth between these kinds of work is critical to my sanity.”
“All of which is to say that yes, I do have overheads and operating expenses.”
I folded the napkins in half, put them in my pocket, and made my way through the crowded room over to the dessert table. I was balancing a slice of chocolate hazelnut torte on a cake knife when I spotted him spooning tiramisu seductively into the mouth of a woman who looked young enough to be his daughter. I stood there holding the torte on the knife while she closed her lips around the spoon and shut her eyes with an expression of orgasmic delight. Once she had recovered I walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. “Rafi,”I said, pulling the napkins out of my pocket, “I have something for you.” I unfolded them and laid them on the table in front of him.
“OK,” he said distractedly as he scooped up another spoonful for his friend, who seemed to be incapable of feeding herself even though she was old enough to drink wine. “Thanks.”
I happened to pass their table on my way out a half-hour later. The napkins were just where I’d placed them, but crumpled now, the ink smudged into a dark blue blur. Seeing me roll my eyes, a man at the next table said, “I don’t know what was written on those napkins, but it sure must have been funny. The guy sitting there was reading it to his daughter – or was she his girlfriend? – and at one point she laughed so hard she spat out a mouthful of pudding. Geez, what a sticky mess.”
One thing that makes art teachers so amazing is that we are self-proclaimed forever students who embrace learning. Continuing your education is appealing! It’s a chance to feed your brain, interact with others on the same wavelength, revitalize your teaching strategies, and grow as a researcher. It gives you a chance to challenge yourself to go further than you ever thought you could. On the other hand, it can be costly to continue learning; it can seem unattainable on a teacher’s budget. It may leave you wondering, “How can I afford a master’s degree?”
Explore five ways you can afford to pay for a master’s degree!
Let’s take a look at five practical ways you can afford to continue learning. And don’t worry—it won’t be to stop buying a cup of coffee or adding guacamole to your burrito bowl. As you read, remember that none of these suggestions live in isolation. You may be able to pair tuition reimbursement or scholarships with paying as you go to lower the cost of your degree.
1. Use district professional development funds.
Many K-12 schools have tuition reimbursement programs, so they may already cover part of your continuing education. These programs are often not widely advertised, so you’ll have to seek them out. Research your district contract, talk to your union representative, and source information from fellow colleagues. Take the time to understand exactly how the funding works in your district and what limits apply. A few key things to note are deadlines, reimbursement, and payment policies with purchase orders.
Insider Tip:
District funds go quickly! Have your paperwork polished and ready to submit before the application window opens.
Money is available through school scholarships, state education programs, cultural associations, and grants. Sometimes, you can find money available through your district’s parent-teacher association or other local community organizations. No matter what options you discover, take the time to apply! Any opportunity that offsets part of your tuition is worth your energy.
Insider Tip:
Scholarship and grant applications can take time, but a tuition break is worth the extra effort to get and stay organized! Prepare your resume/CV, letters of recommendation, and references so they’re ready to go when an opportunity becomes available.
3. Leverage salary lane changes.
Research your district’s salary schedule to clearly understand how earning your master’s degree will affect your net salary over time. Some districts offer smaller pay increases for incremental steps between degrees, such as a BA +12 and BA +30 credit hours. If you time it right, you can use this increased salary to fund your degree—you won’t feel a thing because this salary increase is not part of your existing budget yet.
Insider Tip:
Pay attention to deadlines and work backward. You don’t want to miss a salary increase for an entire year by a few days. Ensure you have the credits you need beforehand from the issuing institution. Allot at least one month between the course end date and the day you need to submit official transcripts.
4. Pay out-of-pocket in small increments.
Let’s talk budgeting! Consider items you can cut out or cut back on to help you hit your monthly tuition target. Taking a detailed look at your spending will identify where every dollar goes. Then, create a process to reallocate certain buckets of money toward your tuition. At The Art of Education University, you can make small payments toward your coursework so you’ll have tuition paid in full by the start date. Remember that this is a short-term adjustment. The goal is a completed degree, a potential raise, and more financial freedom!
Insider Tip:
Cut out the extra cost of guac on your burrito bowl—just kidding! Look for windfalls, like tax refunds or a month when you get an extra paycheck. Set that money aside specifically for your degree.
5. Determine the right pace.
Pacing your coursework is one way to spread out your degree’s monthly or annual cost. Look for a program that you can tailor to meet your specific needs, compared to a strict, regimented course of learning. At The Art of Education University, take classes when it is convenient for you, your schedule, and your finances. Some students prioritize a faster pace to reach their end goal, while others spread their degree over four or five years to pay out-of-pocket as they go.
Insider Tip:
As you look at schools, ask specific questions about course pacing, course availability, and any requirements around staying on a particular timeline. Some programs require you to take courses continuously or progress with a cohort of classmates.
No matter where you are in your teaching career, the best time to invest in yourself is now.
Determining when to pursue and earn your master’s degree is personal. So many factors can determine what the “best” time is. Look at your season of life, how much time you have to dedicate, how much time you want to dedicate, and what your ultimate goal is. However, if we are talking strictly about earning potential and the return on your investment, there’s one clear answer—and I’m betting it won’t surprise you. The sooner you navigate the logistics of a master’s degree, the sooner you can increase your earning and learning potential!
Share a professional goal you have as an art teacher.
What’s holding you back from pursuing a master’s degree?
To chat about how to afford a master’s degree with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
For our third annual Booooooom Photo Awards, supported by Format, we selected 5 winners, one for each of the following categories: Portrait, Street, Colour, Nature, Fashion. You can view all the winners and shortlisted photographers here. Now it is our pleasure to introduce the winner of the Colour category, Megan Eagles.
Megan Eagles is a self-taught photographer based in Camberwell, London with her family, a cat and 7 chickens. Shooting on film with natural light, she describes her work as “people-focused stories with a documentary slant”.
We want to give a massive shoutout to Format for supporting the awards this year. Format is an online portfolio builder specializing in the needs of photographers, artists, and designers. With nearly 100 professionally designed website templates and thousands of design variables, you can showcase your work your way, with no coding required. To learn more about Format, check out their website here or start a 14-day free trial.
We had the chance to ask Megan some questions about her photography—check out the interview below along with more of her work.
Understanding history through stories helps students gain insights into our world. Take your art history lessons and your students’ learning to the next level! Instead of simply describing what an artist created, discuss why the artist created it through odd and interesting stories. This helps students get a glimpse into the artists’ humanity and motivations. It builds an association that goes beyond names and dates. Neat art history tidbits also boost media literacy by providing a foundation of connections for students to draw upon.
The Unexpected Artist
Students often look at legendary artists and assume those figures were born with a paintbrush in their hand. However, the paths to artistic success rarely follow a straight line. Many took winding roads, beginning their journeys in entirely different careers. Share these artists to help students see the value in unexpected learning opportunities.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses Affectionately known as Grandma Moses, Moses was a farmwife who began painting in her late 70s after arthritis made embroidery too difficult. Her charming, nostalgic depictions of rural American life quickly gained popularity. Grandma Moses became a media sensation, showing it’s never too late to pursue your passion.
Henri Matisse Matisse initially pursued a career in law, working as a court administrator before a bout of appendicitis dramatically altered his course. During his recovery, his mother gave him art supplies, and Matisse discovered a love that would define his life. He famously stated he had found “a kind of paradise.”
Corita Kent This former Catholic nun revolutionized religious art. She incorporated vibrant Pop Art aesthetics and social justice messages into her serigraphs, challenging traditional religious iconography. Sister Corita taught art at Immaculate Heart College, where she abandoned conventional methods, encouraged experimentation, and used advertising slogans and song lyrics to connect art with everyday life.
Art That Broke Bad
Everyone loves a good crime drama. Share forgeries, capers, and cons that will have students on the edge of their seats! Try these stories about the shady side of the art world to get your students hooked on art history.
The Stockholm Museum Heist In 2000, thieves used a combination of car bombs, gunfire, and caltrops to steal three paintings by Rembrandt and Renoir from the National Museum in Stockholm. They escaped by speedboat, leaving the police in their wake. Remarkably, all three paintings were eventually recovered, thanks in part to an undercover FBI operation. The operation targeted an international crime syndicate and infiltrated an attempted sale of one of the paintings in Los Angeles.
Wolfgang Beltracchi Beltracchi, along with his wife, created and sold hundreds of forgeries. The forgeries were works by famous artists and brought in millions. He was a meticulous researcher and successfully mimicked various artistic styles. He claims he has forgeries still hanging in museums and collections today.
That Awkward Moment
Students raised in the age of memes can instantly relate to a moment of cringe and appreciate an epic fail. Here are a few stories that may go viral in your classroom and get your students eager to learn more about art history.
DIY Gone Awry A museum worker in Cairo committed the ultimate “oops” in 2014, accidentally knocking the braided beard off King Tutankhamun’s priceless burial mask. Their panicked solution? A hasty and very noticeable repair with epoxy glue, a move that horrified archaeologists and delighted internet users around the globe. This is art’s most unfortunate DIY project.
Upside Down or Right Side Up? Piet Mondrian’s abstract masterpiece, New York City I, hung upside down in a museum for 77 years before anyone noticed the error. Experts finally realized the mistake, highlighting how even professionals can make incredibly relatable blunders. Amazingly, after discovering the error, they decided to keep it upside down for fear of damaging the piece. They say that the upside-down display is now part of the artwork’s story.
Failed Fresco An elderly woman in Spain attempted to restore a flaking fresco of Jesus, Ecce Homo, in her local church. The result became an internet sensation, with the reworked painting dubbed Monkey Christ. Though widely mocked, the botched restoration became a tourist attraction, demonstrating that even artistic “fails” can be spectacular.
Expensive Oops Billionaire art collector Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through his prized Picasso painting, Le Rêve, while showing it off to friends. This incredibly expensive “oops” moment resulted in a $90,000 repair bill. Of course, a great story in the provenance never hurts the value of an artwork. Some years later, Wynn sold the piece for $155 million.
Wherever humans dare to venture, they’ve left their artistic mark, proving that our desire to create transcends all boundaries. Throughout history, people brought art to mountains, deserts, ocean floors, and even the moon. Below are four great examples that will amaze your students.
Jason deCaires Taylor This British sculptorcreates breathtaking underwater museums, placing his life-sized sculptures on the ocean floor. These submerged artworks act as artificial reefs. They attract coral and marine life and transform the ocean into a vibrant, ever-evolving gallery.
Longmen Grottoes China’s Longmen Grottoes feature thousands of Buddhist statues carved directly into the towering limestone cliffs in Luoyang. These intricate sculptures, created over centuries starting in the 5th century AD, transform the natural landscape into a breathtaking open-air art gallery. This UNESCO World Heritage site demonstrates the power of human creativity to merge with nature. It creates a sacred space that transcends traditional notions of where art can reside.
Nazca Lines These landmarks are a series of massive geoglyphs etched into the arid desert plains of southern Peru. They represent one of the world’s most intriguing art mysteries since their creation between 500 BCE and 500 CE and their rediscovery in the 1920s. These ancient designs, depicting animals, plants, and geometric shapes, are so vast that they are only fully visible from the air. The top layer of the desert floor made up of iron-oxide-coated pebbles, provided a dark “canvas.” Ancient people created the lines by removing the top 12-15 inches of rock, revealing the lighter-colored sand beneath. The dry, windless, and stable climate of the Nazca region preserves these remarkable geoglyphs.
Fallen Astronaut Mountains, deserts, and oceans are pretty wild, but the most remote art installation is actually on the moon! In 1971, the crew of Apollo 15 secretly placed a small sculpture called Fallen Astronaut on the lunar surface. This aluminum figure commemorates astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the pursuit of space exploration. It helps to make the moon a truly unique and poignant art gallery.
Ultimate “So There” Moments
Validation can be a good feeling, especially after experiencing doubt. The following artists took unique situations and comments and turned them into opportunities to showcase their grit, skill, and willingness to rise to a challenge. Tell these stories to your students to inspire them to push expectations.
Roy Lichtenstein Lichtenstein’s success is perhaps the ultimate flex on his son. His son pointed to an illustration in a Disney book and challenged his father to draw something that good. Lichtenstein painted Look Mickey, which not only proved his son wrong but also became a seminal work of Pop Art, and launched his career.
Claude Monet Critics questioned Monet’s artistic vision in his later years, claiming his failing eyesight led to overly abstract and formless paintings. Monet responded by creating his monumental Water Lilies series, immersing viewers in the beauty of his Giverny garden. These stunning canvases are now celebrated as Impressionist masterpieces. They silenced his critics and proved that Monet’s artistic power remained undiminished.
Janet Sobel This Ukrainian-American artist’sjourney began with an unexpected challenge from her own son. When Sobel criticized her son’s artwork, he handed her a brush and challenged her to do better. Sobel accepted and discovered a hidden talent for abstract expressionism. This led to the pioneering of a drip technique that later influenced Jackson Pollock.
Sharing these intriguing stories and fun facts helps students connect with art history on a human level. Learning art history is not just about memorizing names and dates. When students can understand the artists as people, they can dig into their motivations and ideas. Stories are an engaging way to make artists relatable and provide context. Silly, scandalous, or unexpected fun facts will spark your students’ curiosity to discuss, ask questions, retain information, and foster new connections!
What are your favorite fun facts from art history?
How do you help students move beyond memorizing facts to creating connections?
To chat about other interesting art history stories with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
Mycenae, view from the top of the mountain where excavations unearthed the ancient site.
Mycenae is the ancient archeological site near Mykines in Argolis, Greece. It’s a fascinating place to visit when you learn about its connection to the ancient Greek history. What seems to be a myth today was a reality in some 16th century BC. This is a place of one of the oldest known cultures in the world- the Mycenaeans. They wrote in Linear B text, the cyclopes built walls and people worshiped the Earth goddess. Perseus founded Mycenae and Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, set out against Troy in the Trojan War. Thanks to independent excavations of an adventurer and explorer, Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, Mycenae got unearthed to us today. Mycenae is located about 120 km (75 miles) south-west of Athens, near Argos. Corinth is about 48 km (30 miles) away from it. The site stands on a beautiful mountain rising 900 feet (274 meters) above the sea level. The collapse of the Mycenaean civilization happened around 1100 BC.
Mycenae excavations
While you can view some artifacts from these excavations in a nearby archeological museum, other items are on display at the museum in Athens. I’m placing pictures about the Mycenean culture from both museums here. I also put some pictures of the local landscape and excavations in the area for you to see how it looks like today. Some pictures look orange and it’s not because of a fancy filter. When we visited Mycenae, the sky turned orange and a rain of sand drops covered the entire landscape as far as we could see. It turned out, it was due to the Sahara dust storm that moved with the wind turning everything orange. The sand covered trees, cats and us. 🙂 The historic descriptions of the place you’ll see below come from the area and museums I visited there.
Mycenean figures revealed during the excavations of the site in Mycenae, Greece
According to Greek legends, Mycenae was founded by Perseus, son of the god Zeus, and the human princess Danae. King of Argos, Perseus beheaded the gorgon, Medusa who turned men to stone. The legend tells a story that Perseus after fulfilling the prophecy that he would kill his grandfather Acrisios, exchanged the kingdom of Argos for that of Tiryns and then founded Mycenae, a new city for himself.
"It's known to the Greeks, that Perseus founded Mycenae……." Pausanias, II, 15,4
Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Antonio Canova, Italian, commissioned by Count Jan and Countess Valeria Tarnowski, 1804–6, the Met, http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/204758
Where does the name ‘Mycenae’ come from? There are at least 3 explanations given for this name.
1. It comes from Perseus’ sword pommel that he dropped in this place. The sword had a mushroom shape (mykes).
2. It comes from an actual mushroom that Perseus picked up to drink from when he was thirsty. It caused a spring to well up (Perseia spring).
3. Homer derives the name from Mycenae, a nymph of great beauty but of uncertain origins. The Perseid dynasty ruled over Mycenae and its territories for at least three generations. Eurystheus, the last of the line, was the king for whom Hercules performed his famous twelve labors. When Eurystheus was killed in a battle against the Athenians and the sons of Hercules, the people of Mycenae chose Atreus, the son of Pelops, to become their king.
Perseus beheading Medusa, terracotta lekythos (oil flask), attributed to the Diosphos Painter, ca. 500 BCE the Met. While Perseus flies over the Medusa, Pegasus jumps out from the gorgon’s dead body. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247488
Fact or Myth #2: Perseus employed Cyclopes to build the walls
To fortify his city, Perseus employed the mythical “Cyclopes” to build the walls and it is from that event the style of gigantic masonry is named “Cyclopean”. So the cyclopean masonry can be seen in the Lion Gate and the North Gate. It’s believed that the cyclopes built the walls around the gate because the weight of these stones is between 20-100 tons!
Funerary Proto-Attic Amphora with a depiction of the blinding of the cyclopes- Polyphemus by Odysseus and his companions, 670-660 BCE, Eleusis. The Cyclops is depicted on the right of the vase | photo: Veronica Winters
Who are the cyclopes in ancient Greek mythology? Cyclopes are a race of giants with one eye in the middle of their foreheads. Their name comes from the Greek words Kýklōpes, which means “circle-eyes” or “round-eyes”. The Cyclopes are often depicted as unintelligent and work as shepherds. They are known for their extraordinary strength, height, and power. Two of the main myths appear in the works of Homer and Hesiod, 7th-century BCE poets and storytellers. In Theogony, Hesiod describes the Cyclopes as three brothers named Arges, Steropes, and Brontes who were blacksmiths and made Zeus’s thunderbolt. In the Odyssey, the Cyclopes are an uncivilized group of shepherds that Odysseus encounters, including Polyphemus, one of their brothers. In the story, Odysseus and his men get trapped in Polyphemus’s cave after eating and drinking his food. Odysseus eventually blinds Polyphemus by plunging a burning stake into his eye while he’s sleeping, and escapes with six of his friends by clinging to the bellies of Polyphemus’s sheep. The Cyclopes are also known for building the Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, and for helping the Olympian gods defeat the Titans in the Titanomachy. In gratitude, the gods released the Cyclopes from Tartarus after Uranus imprisoned them for unruly behavior, and the Cyclopes went on to make Hades’s helmet, Poseidon’s trident, and Artemis’s silver bow.
Fact or Myth #3: The Lion Gate mystery reveal
The Lion Gate, Mycenae
THE LION GATE
The main gate of the Acropolis was constructed in the middle of the 13th century BC. One of its main features is a limestone slab, which fills the area of the “relieving triangle” and bears two lions facing each other in relief. Their front paws lean on two small altars supporting a column. The missing heads were probably made of a different material- steatite. These lions look different and out of place like they were carried from someplace and set in here to make this unusual entrance. This is the earliest example of a monumental sculpture set between the gigantic stones that symbolize the royal house of Mycenae.
THE NORTH (POSTERN) GATE
It was constructed during the second building phase of the walls around 1250 BC. Four monolithic blocks of conglomerate (‘almond stone’) form the two jambs, the lintel and the threshold. The gate was closed with a double wooden door, bolted by a sliding bar. Instead of a relieving triangle, it has two, plain, vertical slabs set on edge above the lintel, thus transferring the weight to the two doorposts. Inside the gate is a small internal court, from which a road led up to the megaron. The special care with which the two large gates of the citadel were built attests to the Mycenaean masons’ expertise.
The Gate shows the Cyclopean masonry with multi-ton stones.
Fact or Myth #4: Discovery of the Agamemnon Shrine of the Mycenean king who fought in the Trojan War
THE AGAΜΕΜΝΟΝΕΙΟΝ
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was a legendary king of Mycenae who led the Greek army during the Trojan War. Famous for his bravery and military skills, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, and the brother of Menelaus. He married Clytemnestra, and they had several children, including Iphigenia, Electra, Orestes, and Chrysothemis.
The Agamemnoneion is one of the most important shrines of historical times in the vicinity of Mycenae. It is located approximately 1 km southwest of the Acropolis. Excavations in the area brought to light the architectural remains of a rectangular building that was used from the late Geometric ( 700 BC) to the Hellenistic period ( 2nd century BC). The early form of the shrine remains unclear. However, in the Hellenistic period, the shrine was repaired and transformed into a temenos.
Most of the finds come from an archaic deposit that contained among other finds geometric and archaic Argive pottery and archaic figurines, all of which appear to be offerings to male gods or heroes. Inscribed sherds referring to Agamemnon, have led to the identification of this small sanctuary as a shrine of the hero and protagonist in Homer’s Iliad.
The Trojan War
The Trojan War is the most famous event in Greek mythology that involves a decade-long siege of the city of Troy by the Greeks. Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite quarreled who was the fairest of them all. Their judge, Paris, the handsome son of the Trojan king Priam, decided in favor of Aphrodite and as a reward, was promised the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, wife of king Menelaus of Sparta.
The abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta, by Paris, the Prince of Troy triggered the Trojan War. Helen’s husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, convinced his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to Troy to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by many Greek heroes, including Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor, and Ajax, and a fleet of 1186 ships and more than 100.000 men from 22 different states set out against Troy under the command of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.
The ten-year war included many events, such as raids on other cities, single combat challenges, mutinies, and love affairs. The Greeks won many battles and killed the Trojan hero Hector, but they were unable to break through the walls of Troy. Odysseus then devised a plan to trick the Trojans into opening the gates by leaving behind a large wooden horse containing a raiding party. When the Trojans brought the horse into the city, the Greeks opened the gates and sacked Troy, killing the men and taking the women. The war is told in many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, which were likely composed in the 8th century BC. The Trojan hero, Hector, was slain by Achilles. Homer’s poem ends there and does not mention Achilles’ death, the stratagem of the wooden “Trojan Horse” and the sack of Troy.
The legends of Mycenae: the house of Pelops
Atreus, son of Pelops, ruled Mycenae. His enmity, towards his brother Thyestes led him to give the unfortunate man the flesh of his own children to eat (the so-called “Thyestean feast”). The deed brought upon Atreus and all his descendants the wrath of the gods and Thyestes’ curse. His son and heir, Agamemnon, was murdered on his return from the Trojan war by his own wife Clytemnestra, assisted by her lover, Aegisthos. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, and his sister Elektra killed both their mother and Aegisthos. After that, Orestes was forced to flee, pursued by the Fates, until he was finally acquitted by the Areopagus court in Athens. The last king of Mycenae, according to tradition was Tisamenos, Orestes’ son. He got killed while defending his state from an incursion by the descendants of Heracles.
Mycenean gold, in the Athens museum
Fact or Myth #5: The Agamemnon’s Gold Mask Mystery
The Mask of Agamemnon is displayed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens.
The Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funeral mask that was discovered in 1876 by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the shaft graves of a royal cemetery at Mycenae, Greece (Grave Circle A). This mask was one of several gold funeral masks found laid over the faces of the dead buried in the shaft graves of a royal cemetery. The golden mask is 12 inches tall. Made from a single sheet of pure gold, it was hammered thin over a wooden mold. It’s considered one of the most famous discoveries from the Late Bronze Age as it shows the wealth and craftsmanship of the Mycenaeans at that time. The mask is displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Schliemann named the mask after the famous king of ancient Mycenae, Agamemnon, who is featured in Homer’s Odyssey and Euripides’ plays. The archeologist believed the mask was Agamemnon’s because of its preservation and nobility, and thought it could prove the king’s existence. However, the mask’s origin is up to debate since its discovery. Some art historians and archaeologists believe the mask is not Agamemnon’s because modern research has dated the mask to 1550-1500 BCE, which is 300 years before Agamemnon would have lived.
Grave Circle A
Grave Circle A is an extensive cemetery of the Middle Helladic and the early Late Helladic period, which spread west of the citadel. It was used for royal burials exclusively during the 16th century BC. It contained six shaft graves (I-VI), five of which were excavated by H. Schliemann in 1876 and one by P. Stamatakis in the following year. Marked with stone stelai, the graves contained inhumations of family members, luxury grave goods, etc that are on view at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Initially, Grave Circle A lays extra muros. Around 1250 BC, however, and with the extension of the cyclopean wall westwards, the royal burial ground appeared within the area of the citadel. The construction of a circular enclosure enhanced the structure.
What is the Helladic Period in Ancient Greece? The Helladic period is an archaeological term used to describe the culture of mainland Greece during the Copper and Bronze Ages, from around 3200–1050 BC. It's divided into three phases: Early, Middle, and Late Helladic. The Late Helladic period is also known as the Mycenaean period.
Gold iron ritual weapons found in grave IV, circle A, Mycenae 16th BCE
Some Excavated Buildings in the area:
1. The Pylos tholos tombs, 16th-14th centuries BC
The characteristic Mycenaean tholos tombs, with their strange beehive-shaped funerary chamber and long entrance passage, first appeared in Messenia. Two large tholos tombs (Tombs III and IV) were constructed near the palace at Pylos in the 16th century BC. Although looted, they contained many precious grave gifts, which spoke of the rulers’ wealth in this region. (There are the tholos tombs at Myrsinochori (Routsi) found in the area of Pylos, one of the early Mycenean centers in Messenia).
Submycenaean Geometric Period
Although the area of Mycenae was gradually abandoned at the end of the 13th century BC, it was inhabited in the centuries that followed. The submycenaean and protogeometric periods are represented exclusively by burials in the south slope of the Acropolis, in the area of the Tholos tomb of Clytemnestra and Grave Circle B. Evidence of the geometric period comes from a number of houses built over the ruins of the palace as well as pottery both inside and outside of the fortification wall. This fragmentary pottery is probably connected with some kind of hero cult.
Early Geometric period vases, the figure of eight shield, an ivory sphinx, some golden decorations, etc shown at the Mycenae archeological museumEarly geometric period vases displayed in the Athens museum
2. House of Columns
The most important building on the east slope of the citadel. At its northwest corner, where the main entrance was situated, are preserved the doorjambs and the threshold of the conglomerate. The house owes its name to the existence of a colonnade in its central courtyard. Destroyed in fire, the building is dated to the second half of the 13th century BC. In the basement and storerooms of this building, archeologists found commercial stirrup jars with a Linear B tablet.
3. Artisan’s Quarter
Together with the House of Columns, the Artisans’ Quarter belongs to the east wing of the palace. This building complex was almost a square in its ground plan. It had two floors with a staircase in its northwest corner. Only the foundations exist here today. The Artisans’ Quarter has two rows of rooms on both sides of a narrow courtyard with an entrance. The building is known as an artists’ workshop on the basis of excavated objects found here – unfinished ivory objects, raw materials, gold leaf, remnants of semi-precious stones, etc. It dates to the second half of the 13th century BC. It was also destroyed in the conflagration at the end of the century.
4. Great Ramp & Hellenistic Chambers
Acquiring the form of a wide monumental ramp, the sloping ascent to the top of the citadel appeared in the late 13th century BC. Paved with thin slabs of schist, it was supported by a cyclopean retaining wall. The ramp begins from the inner courtyard of the Lion Gate, follows the incline of the rock, and stops at its south end. At the end of the ramp lies a suite of four Hellenistic chambers. Their function was possibly related to the processing and dyeing of textiles, a common activity of that period.
Acropolis of Mycenae, oil jars, 14-13 BCE
5. Ramp House & House of the Warrior Vase
These two houses are situated to the south of the Grave Circle A. The Ramp House had at least two floors, but only the foundations of the ground floor have survived to today. The House of the Warrior Vase is named after a famous krater decorated with the Mycenaean warriors. The building consists of basements and storerooms as storage jars with carbonized olives and bronze vases were found inside it. Both houses have the burials of the Helladic period, indicating that this entire area was previously a part of the Prehistoric Cemetery, which occupied the west slope of the hill before the fortification walls were constructed.
6. Other houses outside the Grave Circle B.
There is another group of excavated houses that lie outside the city walls. These are the House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the House of the Sphinxes, and the West House.
Butterflies printed on ancient Greek golden disks found in Mycenae, Grave Circle A. They date to 16 BCE. A butterfly was a symbol of the soul in the ancient Greek world.The cocoon was a symbol of rebirth. The pomegranate was a symbol of bounty. Gold balances represented the weighting of the soul in the Underworld. | Photo: Veronica Winters
Fact or Myth #6: Linear A and Linear B tablets discovery
According to Wikipedia, during the second millennium BC, there were four major branches: Linear A, Linear B, Cypro-Minoan, and Cretan hieroglyphic languages.
Linear A is a writing system of the Minoans practiced between 1800 BC and -1450 BC on the island of Crete. ( the Minoan civilization preceded the Mycenean one). The Linear A script evolved into the Linear B script, which was used by the Mycenaeans as the earliest form of ancient Greek language. It’s fascinating to learn that modern archeologists and historians still can’t read the Linear A script but they can read the Linear B texts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_A
The Phaistos disc is found in Crete with linear A script displayed at the museum on the island of Crete. The Phaistos disk is a round, clay tablet. It has 45 pictorial signs being arranged in different combinations forming 61 groups. These groups are separated by incised lines that might represent words. These signs were stamped into soft clay with seals arranged in a spiral on both sides of the disc. Experts don’t understand the language or this writing in relation to Cretan scripts. The repetition of some combinations of signs suggests that the inscription is either a hymn or a magical text created in the early 17th century BC!Examples of the Linear B script. The images are examples of the texts I saw in the archeological museums of Greece.
Linear B script has been proven to be the first form of Greek writing. In 1900, Arthur Evans discovered the script in the palace of Knossos in Crete, where the Myceneans lived after 1450 BC. The Linear B text wasn’t read as a language until the discovery of a large archive of clay tablets stored in the Mycenean palace at Pylos in 1939. British architect, Michael Ventris and his assistant philologist John Chadwick deciphered Linear B texts in 1952. They proved that the tablets were written in an early form of the Greek language preceding the Homeric poems.
Linear B is a syllabic script. Each symbol corresponds to a certain syllable. It consists of about 90 syllabic signs, numerals, and ideograms (every picture denotes a concept). The Palace kept its records in the form of these clay tablets, which were administrative documents, such as lists, inventory recordings, and tax forms. These ancient recordings give invaluable insight into the palace’s hierarchy, social status, professions, trade, and manufacture of goods.
Fact or Myth #7: The birthplace of Hera’s worship & a peacock
Marble Head of Hera found in the Argive Heraion. Hera was the queen of the gods, wife to Zeus, and the patroness of women, marriage, and childbirth.
THE ARGIVE HERAION, The sanctuary of Hera near Mycenae
Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos in Iliad IV, 50–52: "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets".
The sanctuary of Herawas the famous, ancient cult center that lay on a low hill between Argus and Mycenae. It was probably the birthplace of the worship of Hera in ancient Greece. The first temple of Hera was built in the 7th century BC that burned to the ground in the fire. It’s said that it’s due to neglect of the priestess Chryseie in 423 BC.
The second, the Doric temple was built to honor the goddess by the architect Eupolemos of Argus about 420-410 BC. right on a terrace below the old temple. Some parts of the 5th-century temple were preserved, including lavish sculptural decorations. The depiction of the birth of Zeus decorated the pediment of the east side of the temple. The Gigantomachy decorated the metopes of the same side. The Trojan War cycle themes dominated the west side of the temple. The west pediment had a representation of the Sack of Troy. The metopes of this side depicted the Trojan Amazonomachy. There were also some lion-shaped water spouts, relief palmettes, tendrils, and cuckoos, the bird answered to the goddess.
The colossal gold and ivory cult statue of Hera that had stood inside the temple was the work of the Argive sculptor Polydoitas. Its form is known from the depictions on coins of Argos issued in the 2nd century AD and from the descriptions of the travel writer Pausanias. * From the description in the museum in Athens.
The Peacock in Greek Mythology
The peacock was a sacred bird to Hera, Hera became jealous when Zeus would spend time with one of his many mistresses, and recruited Argus to watch her with his hundred eyes. (According to Ovid, Argus had a hundred eyes). When Argus got killed, Hera set his eyes on the peacock's tail to immortalize him. In another version of this myth, Hera turned Argus into a peacock. This bird pulled her chariot in honor of his faith to her. Juno, Roman goddess has similar to Hera status and myth.
Other fun facts about the Mycenean world:
1. The use of Seals
Seals appeared in the Aegean area in the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). They had a long history of use in the advanced administrative systems of the Near Eastern cultures. Their widespread, administrative use reaches its apex in the Minoan palaces.
The microscopic engraved stones and the seal rings were true works of art that were used as jewelry, votive offerings, and amulets. The seals were used alone and in combination with the clay sealings for many years, confirming the existence of goods quality control. People who owned and used them were representatives of the upper class or other authority. Although the Mycenaeans were influenced by Minoan iconography, they used the seals primarily as objects of authority, while their contribution to the central administrative system was supplementary to the clay tablets. Their rich iconographic repertoire provides valuable information concerning religious convictions, the administrative framework and the social structure. * From the museum in Heraklion, Crete
2. The status of Women in the Mycenaean World
Women’s role in the Mycenaean world is suggested through iconography, precious and household objects, and the Linear B tablets. Many skills in the domestic economy that included special skills like textile-making and corn grinding belonged to slave women or female-tied workers.
There are many Linear B symbols talking about the textiles dying. The fabric was wool of different weights, to purple-red color. People worked in different stages making fabric, having separate professions for each step of the process.
The upper-class women were involved in royal activities that included the creation of personal, refined adornment pieces. The goddesses wore ornate Minoan dresses. The female priestesses played an important role in religious activities that gave them special social status.
The vast majority of this information comes from the local museum & notes placed along the route in the archeological site of Mycenae, Greece that I visited in 2024. I also used some Google to write the summary of the Trojan war and alike. If you’d like to explore other fascinating archeological sites of Greece, visit the links below as I explore the archeology and art of Delphi, Holy Meteora and more.
Greek art styles
Greek art is generally divided into four major periods, each with distinct styles and characteristics:
Geometric Period (900 – 700 BCE):
Emerging from the Greek Dark Ages, Geometric art is characterized by its focus on geometric patterns and stylized figures.
Pottery decoration is prominent, featuring abstract motifs like meanders, triangles, and swastikas.
Human and animal figures are depicted in a simplified, geometric manner.
Archaic Period (700 – 480 BCE):
This period witnessed a shift towards more naturalistic depictions.
Sculptors began carving figures in the nude, adhering to a rigid and idealized form known as the Archaic smile.
Pottery decoration continued to evolve, with the introduction of the black-figure technique where figures are painted in black silhouette against a red background.
Classical Period (480 – 323 BCE):
Considered the pinnacle of Greek art, the Classical period emphasized balance, proportion, and realism.
Human figures were depicted in more natural poses with a focus on ideal beauty and perfect anatomy.
The red-figure technique dominated pottery decoration, with intricate details and narrative scenes.
Famous Classical sculptors like Phidias and Polyclitus developed influential styles portraying gods and heroes in a majestic and harmonious way.
Hellenistic Period (323 – 31 BCE):
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, Hellenistic art embraced a wider range of emotions and expressions.
Sculptures became more dynamic and dramatic, capturing movement and individual personalities.
Art from this period often reflected a more theatrical and emotional style.
Genre scenes depicting everyday life gained popularity alongside mythological themes.
Do you ever find yourself struggling to meet the diverse needs of your students in adaptive art? It can seem overwhelming when you consider how many students you have and the unique learning needs of each. Fortunately, there’s good news! Differentiation simply means you consider your students’ interests, levels, and learning styles and use that information to personalize instruction.
Differentiation benefits your entire art class and not just your students with disabilities because everyone learns best in a myriad of ways. It encourages an inclusive and respectful culture where all students feel valued and capable of artistic expression. The best part is that it ensures all students have equal access to artmaking experiences and opportunities to express themselves creatively in meaningful ways!
Explore three helpful areas to differentiate learning experiences in adaptive art: delivery, goals, and pace.
Adaptive Art Delivery: How do we present the lesson?
1. Visual Cue Tiles
Adding a layer of visual cues to your lesson delivery can be a great way to help students with limited verbal communication. Use an online platform with visual communication symbols to easily create visual supports. For example, grab symbols to represent each step and material of an art project. Post these on a device, place them on the desk in front of the student, or display them on the board for the whole class. This will assist students with communication challenges or cognitive disabilities as they follow along.
Another way to use visual cue tiles is to compile schedules to help students anticipate transitions and understand the structure and routines of art class. Alternatively, provide a range of visual cue tiles for students to point to if they are non-verbal or have limited verbal skills.
2. Visual Steps
Create visual pre-made steps for each part of the art project. This can be super helpful for students who find it visually overwhelming to look at a finished example of a project and understand what step they should be on. This is also handy to give to instructional assistants as they support both you and the student in the project.
If you’re short on time to make these visual steps, check out FLEX Curriculum. FLEX lessons are broken down into steps with both written instructions and clear images. Early finishers in your general education art classes also love to create these documents for you and it reinforces art skills and terminology. FLEX also offers ways to differentiate for other students in your art room, such as English language learners, early childhood learners, advanced (AP) instruction, and more.
Adaptive Art Goals: How do we think about the lesson?
Content: What will students learn?
It can be a habit to dive straight into typing up a lesson, creating resources, and gathering supplies. The most important step in lesson planning is pausing to think before taking action! One way to differentiate a lesson is more of an exercise on changing perspective. Sometimes we have our own personal, class, and program goals. It can be helpful to consider the student’s definition of success. Are they working on beefing up an art portfolio for college admissions or practicing holding a paintbrush correctly? Knowing what their goals are can keep us focused on what’s important. Likewise, tapping into their interests can also make learning more meaningful. Use the filters and search bar in FLEX to sort resources based on specific topics.
Process: How will students learn?
Another way to shift perspective is to move towards more process-based work. It can be frustrating to look at work created by special education students because they probably aren’t at the high skill level you’re used to. Remember that the beauty of visual art is that it’s a personal journey and not a competition to create a perfect result. Take the time to share in your students’ success—no matter where they are in their creative process! Let go of the pressure to make social media-worthy projects and redirect that energy into cultivating wonderful artmaking experiences. Keep the process focused on learning targets with FLEX talking frames or resources with sentence stems.
Product: How will students demonstrate learning?
One tangible way to prioritize your students’ goals and successes is to download the “I Can!” Checklist to track the skills they’re working on and visualize strengths over weaknesses. You can also customize your lesson activities to encourage progress on their goals and further foster areas of success. Curate a bank of adaptations and challenges to copy and paste into any lesson and activity to efficiently customize instruction. Adaptations are ways to simplify the project to achieve goals and challenges, as well as extend the project for additional growth. FLEX also offers leveled skill rubrics for more specific ways to track learning for all grade levels (1, 2, 3).
Here is a bank of adaptations to pull from:
Work on a smaller paper or surface area.
Decrease the number of color choices or mediums.
Offer multiple breaks throughout class.
Use a larger handle and/or thicker bristle brush to cover more ground.
Allow the use of tracers and stencils.
Ditch the palette and pour paint directly on the paper.
Try paint sticks instead of traditional liquid paint.
Provide gloves for sensory sensitivities.
Offer adaptive tools such as adaptive scissors and paintbrushes.
Simplify requirements, such as only cutting straight lines.
Adhere artwork to the table or a clipboard to prevent it from moving.
Use a cake spinner for students with limited movement to add color to a 3D project.
Focus on independent marks instead of drawing shapes.
Here is a list of challenges to pull from:
Work on a larger paper or surface.
Increase the number of color choices or mediums.
Use a smaller brush size to encourage slowing down.
Boost the number of details or subject matter items required.
Pace refers to the speed and timing that the lesson unfolds. How quickly or slowly are you presenting the content? How long do your students have to absorb the steps and ask questions before they begin? How many class periods will this lesson take to complete? Answer all of these questions on the sliding scale of differentiation! FLEX features tips on how to modify the pacing of FLEX lessons in a handy differentiation guide.
Chunking is a teaching technique that focuses on breaking up an activity into small, recognizable, and manageable steps. Chunk information verbally and visually, such as with the visual cue tiles referenced above, to show each step and the sequence to perform them in. Chunking helps students process information more effectively by reducing task step overload. Instead of overwhelming students with large amounts of information all at once, chunking organizes content into digestible pieces that are easier to understand and remember.
Another thing to consider before the materials even reach the students is how your students will communicate their needs and questions. How do your students answer you when you present the class with a question? Do they have enough time to find the answer on their alternative communication device? Make sure to give students with limited verbal communication extra wait time so that they can participate in the class discourse. Another option is to use a buddy system for questions or provide assistants with whiteboards. This way, students can communicate at their own pace if you need to move on with the lesson for other students.
We want every student who steps into our art rooms to feel welcome and have access to opportunities to experience the joy of art! Differentiating instruction, or personalizing instruction to meet your students’ needs and preferences, is one way to create an inclusive environment. Three areas to focus on are delivery, goals, and pace. Incorporate visual cue tiles for reminders and alternative ways to communicate. Shift your perspective from product to progress and chunk information into smaller pieces to make learning more manageable. Taking a few simple steps while harnessing all FLEX Curriculum has to offer will support your students’ creative growth and promote a positive teaching environment for you!
What are some adaptations and challenges you’d add to the list?
What questions do you still have about differentiating lessons for adaptive art?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
Murals by Agostino Iacurci bring drab buildings to life in bold jewel tones, playful patterns, color blocks, and symmetry. Whether painting directly onto bricks and plaster or designing immense fabric sheaths to cover construction scaffolding, the artist’s vibrant compositions enliven street corners and urban thoroughfares.
Iacurci often emphasizes geometric patterns, flora, classical vases, and niches that hold symbolic objects or figures. You might enjoy checking out Gingko Press’s Mural Masters, a survey of the next generation of street artists, and see more on Iacurci’s website and Instagram.
“Landscape n.1” (2021), wall painting, 27.7 x 7.1 meters. Las Vegas, Nevada. Commissioned by Life is Beautiful“Disegno d’esame” (2021), enamel on wall, dimensions variable. Pascucci Elementary School, Santarcangelo di Romagna. Photo by Francesco Marini“Grüne Oase” (2024). Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Photo by Ivan Murzin“COINCIDENCES.” Ensorinstituut, Oostende, Belgium. Produced by The Crystal ShipDetail of “COINCIDENCES”“Landscape n.2” (2021), print on PVC scaffold sheet, 17 x 14 meters. Pastificio Cerere, Rome. Photo by Carlo Romano“Landscape n.3” (2021). Pinacoteca Civica, Foggia. Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro“L’antiporta” (2021), paint on wall, dimensions variable. Biblioteca Ugo Tognazzi, Pomezia. Curated by Marcello Smarrelli and Pastificio Cerere for Sol Indiges. Photo by Lorenzo PalmieriDetail of “L’antiporta”Detail of “Cardi (1571-2021).” Photo by Domenico d’AlessandroDetail of “Disegno d’esame.” Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro
This landscape painting by the 19th century German painter is a perfect example of counterchange — the reversal of value relationships between a shape or object and the background against which it’s set. In this case the dark against light at the top of the castle becomes light against dark in the center of the base.
See James Gurney’s excellent explanation of the principle in his 2008 post: Counterchange.
