The Virtual 20th Annual Children’s Art Walk in Downtown Bellingham
May 1st- 15th, 2020
Eleven Steps for a Successful Children’s Art Walk
The New 2020 Virtual Version!
Allied Arts of Whatcom County is excited to be celebrating the 20th annual Children’s Art Walk. The event was created to celebrate the end of the school year and the arts activities taking place in our local schools. In 2019, over 2,000 youth from throughout Whatcom County, displayed their artwork in 60 different downtown businesses.
Life in Whatcom County is a lot different this Spring, with the COVID-19 Quarantine our schools and businesses are closed and we are confined to our homes. We know creativity is thriving! We have seen dozens of social media posts of whimsical chalk art, fantastic performances and perfectly calibrated chain reaction machines and sculptures. In honor of this homegrown creativity, Allied Arts is taking the 20th Annual Children’s Art Walk virtual! This program is primarily for Elementary school aged youth, but anyone is welcome to join in. We hope to get over 2,000 posts!
Check the Allied Arts of Whatcom County Facebook page for 2020 Virtual Art Walk May 1-15
Get Involved
Anyone with creative kiddos at home: Post images or videos of creations on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #ChildrensArtWalk. Please also include your name, artwork title, grade, school and a sentence or two about your work!
Share your artwork with your neighbors: adorn your sidewalks with chalk art, display your creations in your front windows or create yard sculptures! Post pictures on Facebook or Instagram with #ChildrensArtWalk
Schools: Many of you had already signed up to participate in the Children’s Art Walk. If you have artwork available, were already working with a business and are still able to safely hang the work in the business, please do so and let us know and we’ll feature the work in a special post. Take photos of the work and send them to katy@alliedarts.org along with the location, name of your school, grade and teacher of the kids whose work is hung! We’ll tag them with #ChildrensArtWalk on Facebook and Instagram to be part of the show!
Businesses: Many of you had already signed up to participate in the Children’s Art Walk. If you have a school you were working with and are still able to safely hang the work, please do so and let us know and we’ll feature the work in a special post. Take photos of the work and send them to katy@alliedarts.org along with the name of your school, grade and teacher of the kids whose work is hung! We’ll tag them with #ChildrensArtWalk on Facebook and Instagram to be part of the show!
Arts orgs: Highlight your youth programs on social media and be sure use #ChildrensArtWalk in your post!
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The Pre-Covid 19 version:
Thanks for being a part of the community celebration of children’s art! We want this to be a terrific experience for everyone. Here are some ideas on how to make that happen.
Registering
1. You must register and submit payment by March 6! Fill out the Registration Form below or download the PDF version here. You can pay your registration fees online or mail a check in with your form.
2. Please keep in mind how many pieces of art work you plan to hang. Consider the square footage you will need within your venue (usually 1’x1’/piece of art/student).
3. Be in communication with our CAW coordinator at caw@alliedarts.org
Working with a business for your display
4. Check your email to see which venue you are paired with, keep in mind set up and take down dates. A list on this page will be updated regularly with pairings. If you would like a specific venue, please let us know on your registration form and we will do our best to accommodate you.
It is important for you to be aware of available display space your venue has to offer and be sure your art will work in this space. Do an onsite walk-through before you confirm your business/venue partner. If you feel you need additional space (or less) please let us know as soon as possible!
5. Contact your business/venue partner to confirm your partnership, hanging and take down dates and times, and the available space. We will be collecting as much information as we can from the businesses about displaying art in their venue.
Planning and preparing your art
6. Plan your art projects for your Art Walk exhibit. This may include art projects led by AAEP teaching artists or by one or more of your teachers.
7. Please ‘frame’ the children’s art by gluing it to a piece of construction paper. Use the following links to download the Artist Statement Cards and the accompanying 2020 Bookmarks (TBA).Have the students fill them out and keep each student’s Artist Statement Card with their artwork so they can be displayed together. We recommend paper that is slightly heavier than regular printing paper.
Hanging the Art
8. Gather the hanging materials allowed by your business/venue. Note that schools are responsible for providing these materials. Please be sure to use only the art hanging materials your business partner has agreed can be used in their space as other materials may cause damage or require additional cleanup.
9. Gather volunteers to help hang the art on the date your business partner has agreed to, which should be between Apr 30th and May 1st. All art should be hung by noon on May 1st.
For the Opening Event!
10. We would greatly appreciate you signing up to provide refreshments or volunteer to assist during the art walk. We need facilitators at certain sites, people to distribute maps and balloons at noon on the 3rd, and refreshments for key sites. Consider asking your venue if they are interested in refreshments as well. Check back here for a link to sign up!
Help us spread the word! Use the following attachments to print and pass out or post on social media, on your websites, in newsletters and more. We also have hard-copies of the posters at our downtown office that you are welcome to pick up as well!
Printables:
Children’s Art Walk Poster! (2020)
For Digital Distribution:
Save the Date – Children’s Art Walk 2020 (TBA)
Take Down
11. Remove the display on the date you set with the business partner. We have suggested that the art be left on display through the end of May and at the very least, through May 26th to allow time for families to see the art if they miss the opening weekend. Take-down should ideally happen on May 27th and 28th.
Questions? Please contact Kelly Hart at 360-676-8548 ext. 7, kelly@alliedarts.org