Anyone else prefer prepping their art room bulletin board displays before the last day of school in June? Just me, yes? I figured.
I gather my ideas for my bulletin boards months in advance, too. See the trend there?
I don’t know about you, but this art teacher likes to leave for summer vacation with everything ready for back to school.
Then, in early September, I pull off the protective plastic on my bulletin boards and I’m all set! It really reduces my stress.
These days, I tell friends I should be the “CEO of Quiet Quitting” because I was doing in before it was even a thing!
All kidding aside, you likely landed here because you need some last minute art room bulletin board ideas to get you going. Perfect, because I’m all about sharing.
What Makes a Great Art Room Bulletin Board?
Bulletin boards in your art room are more than just decorations. They’re opportunities to enhance learning, showcase student artwork, and communicate important information. A great art room bulletin board is:
- Visually appealing
- Relevant to the curriculum
- Invites interaction
And, in the case of hallway art bulletin boards, they showcase your art program to passersby. Kids get excited to see if their artwork landed on the board!
What Do You Put on a Bulletin Board in Your Art Room?
Before we dive into specific bulletin board ideas, let’s talk about what you can showcase on your bulletin boards.
From instructional materials to student artwork and art-related quotes, the possibilities are endless. Incorporating essential art terms, visual cues, and student-centered content will ensure your bulletin boards are informative, educational, and engaging.
12 Engaging Art Room Bulletin Board Ideas
1) Art Room Jobs Posters
Managing your art room efficiently is crucial. It’s important to teach children responsibility, independence, and leadership skills. I often say that a lot of what we do as teachers in general is not teaching kids what to think, but how to think.
That includes how to decide what jobs are relevant for a particular project during clean up. And who should do those jobs, and why.
This is the art of developing effective art room systems that will enable students to know and anticipate what’s next.
And, what better way to do it than with an art room jobs bulletin board?
I like to assign fun job titles such as Distribution Crew, Noise Monitors, and Sink Specialists to keep my art room running smoothly. And keep kids engaged. So I made this colorful art bulletin board to help with the heavy lifting of keeping us organized.
Without jobs? Pandemonium ensues.
2) Art Vocabulary Paint Can Posters
One year, I wanted to show kids (and admins!) how much vocabulary students learn in art class. Every new medium comes with its own unique set of words and terms.
And also, that year my school was focusing onliteracy throughout the curriculum. The phrase “print-rich environment” was my admins buzz word. So my idea worked out perfectly.
I decided to make these bright and cheerful paint cans. Each one has art vocabulary for one letter in the alphabet.
My art room has a very long bulletin board running from one end to the other. So I thought this was a natural place for it. The cans are each printed on 11×17″ paper so they can be seen from a distance.
Eventually I made medium and small sized cans to fit on a typical art room bulletin board.
3) Instagram Art Bulletin Board: How to Have Fun in Art!
I’ve been trying to get my students and their parents more involved in art class. Many of them think art teachers throw crayons and paper at kids and let them do whatever they want. We art teachers know better.
So, I borrowed the Instagram idea from somewhere online. But I adapted it with photos of students creating art and final artworks. Each is printed out and glued to colored construction paper to make them pop.
This art bulletin board features photos of drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and metal embossing projects throughout the year.
4) Color Wheel Bulletin Board Display
It’s possible this could be my all-time favorite bulletin board for my art room!
The day I put it up, the kids went gah-gah for it. It was a very memorable experience.
Giant tubes of paint oozing glitter in all directions?
Big splatters of glittery paint in primary,secondary, and tertiary colors? Yes, please!
It’s safe to say my art room was transformed that day. Kids were excited to come up to the board and point out colors. That never happened before!
This is such a great way to teach color theory.
5) Growth Mindset in Art Display
One year, I had finally reached a breaking point in hearing kids say they can’t paint, draw, or (insert any art skill here). I needed something to help reprogram their thinking.
That’s when I landed on growth mindset. And, it has really changed the way my students think about attempting art tasks.
Because what it all boils down to – this thing inside them telling them they can’t do things – is living in fixed mindsets. “I can’t draw.” “I’m not good enough.” “I give up!”
We all know none of that’s true! Or helpful.
So I made this art bulletin board of a giant brain, one half rainbow, the other half gray. The rainbow half is peppered with inspirational phrases overlaid on paint splatters.
And, it’s helped to spark positive self-talk and a can-do attitude in the face of artistic challenges.
6) Embrace Your Uniqueness Diversity Bulletin Board
Over the years, I’ve done a lot of art projects with kid where they had to draw and paint themselves. Or other people.
And you know what I observed a lot of? Children of color painting themselves with way lighter skin tone than they actually are. It always gives me pause when I see a beautiful dark-skinned child reach for paints to mix a tan color for their own skin tone.
That’s why I felt it was important to talk about cultural diversity and inclusion through art.
And, to use it as an opportunity to discuss mixing skin tones.
Neutral colors have such earthy names like “husk,” “charcoal,” and “olive.” Each is unique and beautiful.
This is the type of art room bulletin board that can be a real conversation starter and teaching tool. It’ll help students observe, discuss, and appreciate the beauty of diversity.
7) Increase Your App-Titude! Bulletin Board Idea
In an effort to encourage my students to use more art-related apps, I designed this quick art bulletin board. It features glittery iPads with famous works of art on them.
The school printer managed to run out of ink before I could finish the bottom half (boo!). But I went back and made the bottom read, “in Art” so it looked more complete.
8) Craftsmanship Art Rubric
How often do you need to intervene with your lower elementary students to talk about craftsmanship in art?
I suspect a decent amount.
Yes, scribbling does have its place in art. 100%.
And over the years, I’ve worked with kids to show them how it can be used as an effective tool in art making. I’ve shown them entire colored pencil drawings created by scribbling. And they’re always blown away when seeing it.
But there are also times when a project’s goal is not aligned with that.
And, as an art teacher, you’re trying to guide them to have more deliberate mark-making skills.
In order to set clear expectations for those certain projects, I created this craftsmanship bulletin board. It displays 6 different art mediums and 5 different criteria (with cute emoji faces).
What’s great is that students will come up to the board with their artwork to self-assess their work. Nothing better than independent little artists!
9) I Can Statements Bulletin Board
I’ve never been required to write out learning targets. But honestly, I think they’re a good way of helping children understand what the learning is about, so long as you’re embedding that into your lesson.
When I first started crafting them, I’d write them on the whiteboard.
Friends, I don’t know about you. But I’m terrible at writing on the board! I’d write one out, step back, and be horrified I couldn’t keep things straight.
Eventually I came up with the idea of putting them on soda cans. along with the standard it aligns to.
I Can Statements really help students to take ownership of their learning.
10) Studio Habits of Mind Posters
I absolutely love using the Studio Habits of Mind in my art room, especially with middle schoolers.
What’s great about them is that there’s no set order to teach them. They’re just an inherent part of what we do as artists every day.
That idea has really transcended to my middle schoolers. They get the idea of developing craft and observing easily. I mean, most of elementary education is focused on it.
But as they get older, learning to engage and persist and stretch and explore can feel like an upward climb.
I wound up printing out these art room posters to fit on my cabinets because I ran out of bulletin board space.
But I did add a small version to this poster set in case anyone else has a much smaller bulletin board in their art room.
11) The Elements of Art Tool Belt Bulletin Board Display
When I introduce the elements of art, I say that each element is like a tool in a tool belt and used to create art. Moreover, each tool has a different job. And then we do projects throughout the school year tied to each tool!
So, I decided I’m decorate my art room bulletin board with a giant tool belt. On either side are examples of the 7 elements of art. For example, two different colors wheels and cut-outs of forms that I drew.
I used the analogy of the tools in the belt the entire year and my students really got it!
12) Art Room Decor Printables
OK, so not exactly an art room bulletin board ideas as much as it is an idea to pep up a boring display…
Over the years, there have been many times when I drew out cute glitter clipart graphics to post on my art room bulletin board.
Or my wall….
…the front of my desk
…on the door to the art room.
Pretty much wherever my room needs a splash of color and a touch of cute.
Bonus points because the glitter doesn’t spill, splash, or otherwise make any kind of mess you’ll regret in the morning.
Nor will it get you in trouble with the janitors!
Have Any Art Room Bulletin Board Ideas to Share?
With these 12 engaging art room bulletin board ideas, you’re equipped to transform your classroom into an inspiring and dynamic space that sparks creativity, curiosity, and growth.
From teaching vocabulary and color theory to promoting diversity and fostering a growth mindset, these bulletin boards serve as both informative tools and captivating decorations.
Remember, every corner of your art room has the potential to inspire and educate your little artists. And, make learning a vibrant experience.
Have you been working on your bulletin boards? I’d love to hear about it!
What apps did you use for the App-titude bulletin board? I know a few, but I’m working on compiling my own list and would appreciate it if you don’t mind sharing. Great idea!
I hope you don’t mind. I linked to this post on my blog for art room bulletin boards. http://bulletinboardstoremember.blogspot.com/2014/11/instagram-inspired-board.html