About the Project | Projects | Activity: create your own Picture of Britain project

Activity E: Curators for a Day

Dora Carrington Farm at Watendlath  1921 View in Tate Collection © Tate 2005

As a class, discuss what kinds of things might represent your area and capture the spirit of the place you live. Make a list of what might be representative of your town or region. Now imagine a new museum is opening in your town and your class has been given the assignment of acting as curators for a day. What will the museum be called? What will its mission be? Ask your class to bring in objects, memorabilia and other items that represent your region. Choose up to 10 items that you feel capture the spirit of your area the most.

• Then ask your class to create artwork - paintings, sketches, collages, junk sculptures, etc - that shows your region and the special things about it. With all of the students, choose up to 10 of their art works that represent your area.
• Now ask your class to write some text panels, like the ones they might see in a museum, to describe their exhibition. They can create a text panel for each object and work of art, and then together as a class you could write one larger introductory panel explaining the exhibition and why you think these objects and works of art are important in capturing the spirit of your region.
• Set aside a classroom space to display the objects, art work, and text panels.
• Take digital pictures of the class's exhibition and send them to your partner class along with the text panels they have written, and arrange for your partner class to do the same.
• What have your partner class decided to exhibit in their museum? How have they described their objects and works of art? What have you learned about their region from this exhibition?

Tip: You can also do this activity by dividing the class into three groups: one group is responsible for bringing in objects, the second group creates the artwork, and the third group writes the text panels.

Curriculum areas: Art, English

Activity D	Suggested Activities	Activity F