All-Church Art Fair

For a climax to your weeks of creating works of art, celebrate with your church family in an all-church art fair. This will provide an opportunity for you to show them what you have been doing and to let them share some of their creative efforts with you.

One of the definitions for the word, artist, is “one versed in the practice of a fine manual occupation.” There are probably many people in your church who are artists by this definition of the word. Use this definition to guide you as you plan for your own – possibly your first – art fair.

Agenda for Your Club Meeting:

• Introduce the art fair. Be enthusiastic to build up interest in the project. Say something like, “Did you know that Eddie’s dad makes beautiful leather belts? Or that Mrs. Johnson is a landscape artist?” Scout out some interesting or unusual art or craft skills to tell the kids about. Ask kids if they know of any others, perhaps right in their own families.
• Discuss the purpose of your art fair. Be sure you define, in your own minds, why you are having it and what results you expect. As you consider this, read together Colossians 3:17, 23. Any activity in which we engage should be done to the glory of God. Colossians 3:23 indicates that we should do everything to the best of our ability – as unto the Lord. Make your art fair a celebration of the talents God has given to the people of your church, and praise Him together as you see these talents displayed. Another benefit of this activity is that people will learn more about each other as they share their handiwork.
• Decide arrangements. You will need to decide some of the following details as you plan your time together.
  • Time. Plan enough lead time so people can prepare the things they will enter in the fair. The date you set should be at least six weeks after your planning meeting. Make it a time when most people will be free to come – possibly a Friday evening or a Saturday afternoon.
  • Place. Probably a large room or two in your church would be the most likely spot for the fair. Be sure there is plenty of wall space for hanging entries and room for tables and browsing.
  • Who will participate. Now talk over who you want to invite to make entries in the fair. Try to include your whole church family – youngest to oldest.
• Define the categories for entries. Here is a list of possible categories. There are probably many more. Have your entry blank open for categories you don’t think of.

• Decide rules for entry. Consider factors such as originality, age groupings, information you want to accompany the entry. You do not need many rules, but think them through carefully.
• Appoint working committees to prepare for the fair. Divide your club into groups to plan parts of the whole project. You may want to supplement your committees with an interested adult or two – parents or Pals. Here are some possible committees and a description of the work each will do.
  • Arrangements Committee will get permission for the use of your church and will clear the date with your pastor and/or church admin. They will see that adequate tables, chairs, etc., are available. Also, they will decide if you want to charge a fee. If you do, it can pay for light refreshments, decorations, and publicity.
  • Promotion Committee will advertise the fair in any way possible. Here are some suggestions: posters in your church lobby and community announcement boards (libraries, restaurants, etc); flyers to hand out in Sunday school, club meetings, and church; announcements on the church website, in the bulletin, and from the pulpit; social media post; an article in your neighborhood newspaper; a radio announcement. Decide what you can do in club to prepare publicity, and what needs to be done at another time.
  • Display Committee will decide how to mark and arrange your entries in an attractive manner. They will also decorate the room(s) in any way that seems appropriate. Remember to keep decorations minimal so they don’t distract from the art entries.
  • Entry Committee will design and distribute the entry blanks. They will also review the entries as they come in and will let the Display Committee know what to expect so they can plan the display area.
  • Refreshments Committee will plan, prepare, and serve light refreshments, if you decide to have them. Punch and cookies will be plenty.
• Plan meeting and work dates with each committee. These should be apart from regular club meetings.
• Set a time for committee reports. Plan a few minutes during each club meeting for reports.

Suggested Planning Schedule

These dates are only used to illustrate the time spans you will need as you prepare for your fair.

• April 19 – Club meeting to plan art fair.
• April 20 – Arrangements Committee checks with church admin and/or pastor.
• April 22 – Posters are hung and other promotion begins and continues throughout the entire time.
• May 3 – Entry blanks are distributed.
• May 24 – Deadline for entry blanks to be returned.
• May 30 – Art fair room prepared.
• May 31 – Participants bring in entries and Display Committee arranges them. Food is prepared by Refreshments Committee.
• June 2 – Art fair is held.