We have been working with Buffalo Public School 33 for three years. For the second year in a row the Albright Knox Art Gallery has asked the school to install an exhibition of student work. This year's exhibition is titled Art Makes You Think Bigger...an ingenious observation by one of 33's youngest students. The exhibition features the connections between art and other subjects; demonstrates the implementation of inquiry based inter-disciplinary projects; and shows the influence of the Reggio Emilia Approach.
Last year we created over 30 panels that were installed directly on the bulletin boards of an Albright gallery. They were well done and well received. However, when the exhibition was over, it all had to come down...and to reinstall in the school proved to be a burden...mostly because of the lack of bulletin boards in the school hallways.
This year we invented a new technique. We measured all 28 of the bulletin boards at the Albright and cut boards exactly to size from triplex cardboard sheets (about 3/4" thick and very sturdy). These boards served as our "canvas" for each project story. They will be installed directly over the existing Albright boards.
Having this defined and moveable canvas made the composition of the boards easier. And, we went a step further by creating a sort of template for each board: a poster with a brief narrative of the project with pictures dividing the narrative in English and Spanish; examples of student work with subtitles; and a brief synopsis of New York State Standards developed during the project.
The exciting part of this process however, is that all 28 pieces will be reinstalled directly in the school hallways...where they belong. In fact, as we composed the panels on the large cardboard sheets, we installed them in the halls, much to the delight of all the students...as it should be!
BRAVI School 33 students and teachers!
