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You are here: Home / All categories / How to Create a Children’s Art Fair

How to Create a Children’s Art Fair

July 20, 2016 • 4 Comments

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Create your own children's art fair with this step-by-step guide. A great way showcase all the art your children make.

Is your refrigerator or classroom covered in masterpieces created by the little ones in your life? Imagine a 5-year-old who mostly illustrates (although he is starting to add a little writing) a book a day.  And, an eager 4-year-old who produces lots and lots and lots of drawings, paintings, and sculptures each week.  The pace of creating masterpieces quickly outgrows the prime real estate on the front of the fridge.  Enter the aha moment….Let’s have a kid designed art fair!

Create your own children's art fair with this step-by-step guide. A great way showcase all the art your children make.

Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”  Boy oh boy, did we have fun pulling off this event completely initiated by my kiddos.

visiting an art fair

My kids have been to several local art fairs which helped to fuel the fire for this project. They picked up the pieces above last year. Illustrating and writing working hand in hand for young writers.  My oldest son was able to create stories long before he was able to add words to his books.  He has created some amazing wordless picture books.  I think we keep Bare Books in business.

So, how did we pull this off?  And, most importantly, how can you do it too?  Here is your step-by-step guide.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Children’s Art Fair

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Creating the Artwork

We collected artwork that my kids made for several months prior to the big day.  Sometimes we worked in our art studio, other times we worked outside, and most of the time we sat, kneeled, or stood at the kitchen table.

making art for our art fair

We tried to work in lots of mediums inspired by studying the illustrations in children’s books.  We did small projects, big projects, and even large outdoor installations with our fairy garden.

Here are few of our go-to places for art project inspiration.

Art Hub for Kids– great on-line drawing tutorials

The Artful Parent–  oddles of process art ideas ( I especially love The Artful Year book.)

Pick a Date and Send Out the Invitations

We chose a super hot day in June.  In retrospect, a cooler fall day in early October may have been a better idea.

art fair invitation

The kids could design their own invitation.  We opted for a little technology integration and created ours with a free design program called Canva.  We picked a template and edited our details.  Presto, download, print, and send.

Planning the Food

food for an art fair for kids

We prepared simple and colorful appetizers.  Fruit kabobs, smoky peach salsa from Trader Joe’s (my fav) and chips, hummus and veggies, rice krispie treats, watermelon lemonade, and cucumber and lime infused water.

You will be busy getting art work displayed so keep the food easy.  Everything we chose could be made before the art fair.

Displaying the Art Work

yard sale signs to display art

This is the step that takes the most creativity and time.  We chose to use yard sale signs covered with blank paper as the stands for many flat pieces.  We attached the artwork the night before and then the kids were able to arrange them in the yard the next day.

easels to display art

We also used easels to hold canvases and utilized steps to prop up other pieces.

table display of art

Tables were also set up for showcasing sculptures.

Since it was so hot, we had some art work displayed inside.  Windows worked great for displaying pieces.

Add label cards to describe each piece.

The kids chose which pieces would be for sale and priced them with them price stickers. This is a great way to work on math skills.

Art Fair Activities

We have the art.  We have the food.  Just need some entertainment.

portrait station for art party

We chose to have a portrait station.  My oldest son drew portraits for anyone willing to sit.  You just need an easel, paper, pencils and two chairs.

table ready for art

We also covered a table with cardboard (or you could use paper) and set out a container of crayons for collaborative drawing.

And, the Lego table was open for creative sculpture building.

Party Time

We were open for business. We had a great mix of friends, family, and neighbors who all went home with at least one piece of art.

We had a few people send us pictures of the art work in their homes which was so fun to see.

Final Thoughts

Everyone had a blast and my kids are eager to do it again next year.  Again, I think we will pick a little cooler time of year.

Wondering what the kids did with their money they collected?  Bought more art supplies of course!

Create your own children's art fair with this step-by-step guide. A great way showcase all the art your children make.

I hope you are inspired to hold your own art fair for the budding illustrators in your life.  Share pictures on Instagram and be sure to tag me @growingbookbybook.

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4 Comments Filed Under: All categories, Literacy Projects

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

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  1. Tracy says

    July 20, 2016 at 8:18 am

    I love this idea! I’m going to tweak the idea and host an art fair with artwork collections from kids and their friends. I think it would be a great way for the kids to see and appreciate each other’s creativity. The kids could have items for sale if they would like. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      July 20, 2016 at 8:38 am

      I love that idea Tracy! Be sure to share pictures. I would love to see their work.

      Reply
  2. pragmaticmom says

    July 20, 2016 at 8:09 am

    What a fun way to display children’s art! They must love this attention on their art!

    Reply
    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      July 20, 2016 at 8:40 am

      They did have so much fun Mia. They truly felt that their art was being appreciated and they loved when those who took home a piece shared where they displayed it in their own homes.

      Reply

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