Recreate a famous artwork
You’ll need
- Something to protect surfaces (for example, newspaper or tablecloths)
- Art materials
- Mages of art or art books (optional)
- Something to protect clothes (for example aprons or wearing old clothes)
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
Planning and setting up this activity
- You may wish to run this activity over several weeks, so you have time to be inspired by art, then recreate it.
- You might want to plan a trip to a local art gallery or museum, or you could collect pictures and books of famous artworks and sculptures to show people. Make sure all the images are suitable for the young people you are working with. Young people could also bring in pictures or books with their favourite pieces of art in too.
- Remind everyone, including parents and carers, not to bring anything precious, expensive, sentimental, or treasured. This is to prevent anything getting lost, damaged or broken. Not everyone will be able to bring items from home. There may be lots of reasons for this, such as living situations or costs. You should consider bringing some items or spares for people to use.
- You may wish to run this activity outside if it’ll be messy or put something down to protect surfaces and floors.
- Art can be created using any medium, just choose something that suits your group. Photographs can be drawn or painted. You can use materials or natural items to recreate sculptures or images too.
Running this activity
- Gather everyone together and explain that you are going to recreate some famous pieces of art. You could go around and ask if anyone wants to share their favourite artist or artwork.
- Before you start looking at art, you may want to chat through different art styles, such as figurative art, abstract art, pop art and so on.
- Next, you should give everyone a chance to look at some art and feel inspired. You could visit a local gallery or museum, do some online research, visit an online gallery, use art cards, or look at books and magazines. Remember to also have a look at sculptures too.
- Gather everyone back into a circle and discuss what everyone’s favourite piece of art was and why.
- Everyone should decide which piece of art they’re going to recreate. They could use the same materials and style, or they could try to imagine the art using different materials or in a different style, or use their own style. They could try fancy dress or face paint to recreate a portrait, use fruit to remake the artwork, create it using pasta, take photographs, make it out of clay, use magazines to make a paper mosaic, or try making the art using paint in a different style. Be mindful of any allergies when choosing items, and make sure to check with parents and carers before using face paint.
- Once everyone’s finished, anyone who wants to and is happy to could share what they’ve made with the group. They could answer questions, talk about how they made it or explain to others why they chose that piece of artwork. You could also hold a small group art exhibition to share your work.
Reflection
This activity was all about learning and trying different art techniques, as well as being creative and seeing how we all interpret art in different ways. Why did you choose the piece of art you did? How did you feel before, during and after making your art piece?
Art can be made using just about anything. Did you use any unusual materials or techniques in your piece of work? Was there anything you did that you’d like to try again in the future? If you were to do this activity again, what would you do differently? What would you keep the same?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Spray canister products
- Look at the advice on COSHH (Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health) and check the manufacturer’s advice. You may need to include controls, such as good ventilation, using a face mask and gloves, and avoiding use near ignition sources.
- Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Glue and solvents
Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.
- Rubbish and recycling
All items should be clean and suitable for this activity.
- Craft: Unusual substances
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using unusual substances, such as powdered paint, ash or dirt. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by what’s being used. Make sure you follow all relevant safety guidance or manufacturers guidelines, where available. Make sure you dispose of it appropriately too, in line with safety guidance.
To make this activity easier, you could all choose to recreate the same piece of art or use the same materials.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Young people could be involved in choosing their art works and/or the materials they use to recreate artworks. They could organise a small exhibition of their pieces of art to share with another section or the local community.