Children painted masterpieces on canvases, transformed their nursery into an art gallery in which to display their work and sold their creations to the highest bidder at John Radcliffe Hospital Nursery in Oxford last month.
The art exhibition was a huge success with children, staff and parents alike and raised around £500 for the Help the Hospices charity. The nursery is part of the Imagine Co-operative Childcare group, whose six settings have committed to raise £2,000 for their adopted charity this year.
The night's fundraising astounded nursery manager Jan Thorp, who masterminded the art exhibition. 'We had such a great night and it was a huge success,' she says. 'The parents loved it, and some got quite emotional when they saw their children's artwork displayed.'
A sense of occasion
The nursery bought square canvases for each child. They were encouraged to paint whatever they wanted. Baby room staff had strict instructions that it was not to be hand and foot prints; they wanted the children to use their imaginations and get creative. The nursery also provided five bigger canvases for the children in each room to club together and make joint masterpieces.
Once the children set upon their artwork, the staff got busy sending personal printed invitations to their families' homes advertising the nursery art exhibition. They were posted to help create a sense of occasion for the gallery's grand opening night.
Nursery staff then cleared out the cloakroom area of the nursery. This has white walls, providing a perfect backing to show off the children's artwork to best effect. Any nursery displays were also covered with white paper so that they would not distract attention from the canvases.
'We didn't hang them in groups but mixed the children's artwork up, so that parents had to look at everyone's pieces to find their own child's painting,' explains Ms Thorp. 'We then displayed the bigger group canvases in the foyer for guests to see when they entered.'
The canvases were hung on the walls with labels such as 'A Fire Engine by Jim, aged four', or just with the child's name and age.
Children's individual canvases were priced at £5 (with £1 kept to cover the cost of the canvas and the rest donated to charity). A silent auction was held for the large canvases, which raised £145. One piece sold for £60 alone.
Grand unveiling
'On the night of the exhibition the nursery was buzzing,' says Ms Thorp. 'My staff worked really hard getting it all ready. Instead of wearing our uniforms, we dressed up for the occasion, and in the 30 minutes between the nursery closing and the gallery opening it was full of excitement while staff got changed and put on their make-up and perfume.
'They all worked together on the project, so it was a great team-building exercise too. I'm really proud of them all!'
Many of the staff commented that if certain pictures did not sell then, they wanted to buy them themselves, because they loved the designs and the colours so much. 'Many were as good as anything you'd see in a professional gallery,' Ms Thorp adds.
But in the end, all the children's artwork was bought by their parents. Those who couldn't attend the grand unveiling bought the pictures later in the week.
As well as being a great fundraising opportunity, the night proved a good chance for staff and parents to mingle informally and catch up with each other outside of the busy nursery day. The nursery group's operations manager, whom the parents do not often get a chance to meet, also attended. A Co-op retail store kindly donated wine, cheese and nibbles for the exhibition visitors to enjoy while browsing round the paintings.
Above all, the nursery children gained great satisfaction from the event. Ms Thorp says, 'The children absolutely loved it. They enjoyed finding their artwork and taking their parents to it. It was also a real boost for them to see their artwork valued and displayed on the walls nicely for everyone to admire.'