Like baseball and hockey cards, Artist Trading Cards are a real thing. Introduced by Swiss artist M. Vanci Stiremann in the late 1990s, artists around the world, professional and amateur, are creating unique works of art on trading card-sized canvases, trading, and collecting them. There are trading sessions in Europe, Canada, Australia, and the U.S., and exhibitions of the cards in galleries around the world.
Why not give this evergreen art project a go and start a trading card frenzy in your own classroom? Artist Trading Cards are a wonderful way for students to express themselves as artists. Try a class exercise called, “Hello, My Art Is…”, (as a takeoff of the ubiquitous “Hello, My Name Is…” sticker) having your students create miniature pieces that specifically represent their style and what they stand for as artists. When complete, ask your art students to talk about their art and the style that best characterizes them as artists.
When their cards are complete, have students sign and date them to ready for trading. You might also want to assemble them all into a single, quilt-style, collaborative project. If your students would like to wear their art, they may want to enclose their trading card into a plastic holder and hang from a beaded lanyard. (see examples below
Students might also create their own personal collections, trade with other students in their class, participate in an all-school trade, or even trade with other schools in your district, state, across the country, or around the world. The possibilities are endless.
Have you created Artist Trading Cards with your class? Let us know in the comments below.
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