Art is about expressing your individuality, but you can also make something pretty incredible when people pool their talents. Group art projects give kids a chance to work together, putting their strengths to work. These collaborative art projects work for kids, teens, and adults alike while providing results everyone can be proud of. Whether you’re into painting, sculpture, doodling, or mosaics, there’s truly something for everyone on this list!
These group art projects are low-cost and easy enough for anyone to pull off. You may already even have all the materials on hand!
Clever Poppit Resources via Instagram
1. Stack pom-poms into a tree
Yarn pom-poms are easy to make and are also an excellent way to use up scraps of yarn. Have each student contribute one or a few, then glue them to a Styrofoam form to make a sweet little tree.
What better way to show how united your students are than with a chain of connected hearts? Each kid decorates a paper strip and then they’re attached together to form big, bold hearts.
Find an old puzzle at the thrift store—look for the kind meant for young kids, with 25 or 30 large pieces. Have each child customize a piece, then assemble them into one striking collaborative art piece.
Kids learn to cooperate when they have to share a space to create their masterpiece. Fortunately, sidewalk chalk is pretty forgiving since mistakes are inevitable.
Regardless of artistic ability, doodle projects provide the perfect opportunity for kids to just let themselves go. The real fun comes as they laugh and chatter while they work.
We love art ideas that help pep up an otherwise boring classroom ceiling. Take a note from this one that uses bright graphics to draw the eye toward the stellar artwork. Take the tiles down, flip them over, and work on the back (these are done in chalk and sealed with hairspray). Finally, put them back up when you’re done.
Teachers will love this art project since you can get all the supplies you need at the dollar store. Each student paints a wooden craft stick, then they’re arranged into an eye-catching display.
The concept is simple: a large picture frame wound with warp threads and a basket of yarn nearby. Teach kids the basics of weaving, and they’re off! This collaborative art project is a creative way to occupy kids who finish other activities early.
This collaborative art project is not just inspired by nature, it also incorporates nature into its design. Before beginning, find a long branch with an appealing shape. Have kids paint and decorate it, then display it in your classroom.
This group art project is easy, plus a great way to use up old paper scraps. Kids each decorate one paper strip, then paste them into a unique 3D sculpture.
Purple Twig via Instagram
11. Ride the art roller coaster
Let your little artists create their own swirling designs before piecing them together. Once all lined up, they will form a fun, whirling roller coaster!
The possibilities for this fun and collaborative sculpture are endless. Give kids lots of marshmallows and toothpicks and show them how to piece them together into a variety of shapes. Once everyone has created their individual sculptures, join them together into one larger one. You’ll definitely want to have some extra marshmallows on hand for snacking!
Play Trains!
13. Drive trains through paint
What could be more fun than creating a collaborative art piece with toys? Let kids’ imaginations run wild while driving toy trains across piles of bright-colored paint on a large canvas.
Before getting started with this fun collaborative art project, set up a cardboard box with tall sides with either paper or canvases inside. Then give your students balls that they can dip in the paint and drop onto the paper in the box.
Use heavy-duty twine to hang your shower curtain from a tree branch, then use some heavy rocks to weigh down the curtain. Finally, give your kids paint and paintbrushes and watch the creativity soar!
Art project ideas that also double as a science lesson are definitely on the top of our list! Get outside with your students and have them collect sticks, leaves, pine cones, and whatever else they come up with so they can arrange them collaboratively into a natural art piece.
Ask your students and friends to collect all kinds of paper tubes, boxes, and other odds and ends in the weeks before doing this project. Gather everything together and supply your students with glue, paint, and tape and see what they create. Their imaginations will stun you as they create a whole world from scraps. The children in this video have a whole story connected to what they’ve designed.
Fantastic Fun and Learning
18. Paint with veggies
Roll out some white paper, set out some washable paint, and then let kids try making paint stamps using different types of vegetables. Hang your group art project alongside some facts about nutritious fruits and veggies.
If you’re coordinating dozens or even hundreds of students, these collaborative art projects are perfect. They’ll accommodate groups of any size, so you can use them with smaller classes too.
Mme Marissa
19. Trace handprint dragons
This collaborative art project is cool around Lunar New Year, but it works any time of year. Kids paint and cut out colorful handprints, then layer them together into a traditional Chinese dragon shape.
Each student designs their own paper balloon, then hangs them on a giant skyline mural. Feeling ambitious? Make 3D hot-air balloons and suspend them from the ceiling!
Emily Shane via Instagram
21. Embellish your thumbprints
Art projects like this one are so cute and simple yet so impressive! Each child simply makes a thumbprint on a small piece of paper, then turns it into a face with black marker. Finally, assemble them into a rainbow collage and frame the impressive results.
These pretty butterflies will inspire kids to dream higher. During this project, each student creates their own paper butterfly. Then they are assembled to form a true flight of fancy.
Folding the traditional Japanese paper crane is a soothing activity, once you get the hang of it. Ancient legend promises peace and happiness to those who fold 1,000 of these paper birds. Your students don’t have to fold that many, but once they get going, they might surprise you!
Painted rocks are all the rage these days, but we love the way the students at Sharon Elementary are displaying their work. This river of painted rocks is everything that makes collaborative art so effective since it incorporates individual creativity into a harmonious whole.
Art project ideas that help beautify outdoor spaces are some of our favorites. This is also a cool way to commemorate a graduating class. Cut out wood silhouettes, then have students make colorful clay tiles to fill them.
The secret to this stunning collaborative art project? Upcycled CDs! CD weaving is easy to learn and lots of fun to do. The result of the assembled pieces is sure to draw oohs and aahs.
This type of collaborative art project requires a little more work, but the results are stunning. Choose a different theme for each class or year, and soon you’ll have an amazing collection on display.
In this collaborative mural, students cut out and bedeck a paper circle. Then they cut it into fourths and arrange it however they like on a square of paper. Assemble all the squares into a big quilt-like mural.
From preschool to high school, these group art projects offer creative ideas for all kids. They’re also terrific for scout meetings, after-school activities, community groups, and more!
Look Between the Lines
32. Build your school
In this group art project, students create an homage to their school building! You can make the individual tiles from paper, or take things one step further and create this in clay relief instead.
This is the type of project that requires students to work together to create a design, then plan how to make it come to life. Search the web for more examples of sticky note art to inspire young creators.
Kids will surely find Jen Stark’s colorful art exciting and inspiring. For this collaborative art project, have them each make their own “drip” piece, then layer them together for one big finished mural.
This collaborative project builds on individual city skylines that kids draw first. Then, they each choose their favorite building and add it to a larger cityscape.
Art ideas for middle school lessons often take inspiration from famous artists. Channel your students’ inner Vincent van Gogh and have them create a beautiful impressionist paper flower. Then cut out a large paper vase, attach it to a bulletin board or wall, and fill it with all the gorgeous blooms!
First, have each student take a letter and draw or paint something to represent it. We especially love how this example incorporates students’ handprints and fingerprints.
Some art project ideas like this one will take some time and planning, but the end result will be worth it. Students choose a subject and then break it down into individual canvases, each done in their own style. When it’s reassembled, you get magnificently unique artwork to display for years to come.
Let colorful patterns offset the letters of a word or phrase that’s meaningful to your students so it really pops off the page. Start by painting the letters, then let kids add the colors and patterns. Finish by fixing any edges where they’ve gone over the lines (because you know they will!).
How cool is this? String art is making a comeback, and these big leaves are so fun for kids to create. Not allowed to make holes in the wall? Try using pushpins on a bulletin board instead.
From a distance, the forest blends together, but when you get up close, every tree is unique. Make different styles of paper trees, then put them together for a walk in the woods!
Sewing is a great skill for kids to learn, so these pizza pillows will be a great place to start. The nice thing about this collaborative art project is that every student can take their part of it home at the end of the year.
Since a stool is not the same as a large canvas, this collaborative art project is best done in small groups. Have one or two students at a time paint a small section of the stool. Once the base layer is dry, decoupage some magazine cut-outs of words. Finally, have some older students neaten things up before calling it done!
Art project ideas that recycle otherwise unusable objects are undoubtedly some of our favorites. Save all those stubby ends of crayons that no one wants to use and turn them into a vibrant mural. Remove the paper and trim them to the appropriate size with scissors, then glue them into place on your desired design.
Give each student a triangle in varying shades of green and let them decorate them to their liking. Be sure to provide plenty of pom-poms, glitter, gems, markers, etc., so they can really personalize them. Finally, piece them all together to create a large triangular tree and add a star on the top and a stem on the bottom.
This collaborative art project is perfect for using up scraps of paper. Coil strips into tubes and glue down the ends. Then arrange them into whatever design your students fancy.
Before beginning this collaborative art project, give your students an art history lesson on street artist ThankYouX. Kids customize their own cube, then all join together to make one amazing mural.
Try this project at the end of the year when everyone’s pencils are worn down to nothing anyway. Kids will love experimenting with different patterns and shapes. When they find one they like, glue the pencils into place.
Experiment with some cool watercolor techniques to create the flower petals and oh-so-adorable creatures that bring this springtime wall to life. You can change the scope of this group art project based on how many kids you have working on this collaborative art project.
Save all those Amazon boxes and put them to good use while creating a one-of-a-kind shoebox mansion. Give kids lots of options like paper, glue, Popsicle sticks, markers, etc., so they can personalize their own room in the mansion. Your students (and you) will have so much fun seeing it all come together!
You’ll definitely need a lot of painter’s tape to make this one happen, but the end result will be worth it. Give students access to a hallway wall and endless rolls of tape, and watch the creativity get unleashed.
Krista Simcoe via Instagram
55. Get spooky and collaborative
The teacher in this post used this idea to create a Halloween tree, but we think you could amend it for any holiday/season. Grab a fake tree with a lot of branches and then let your students decorate it with ribbons, feathers, beads, etc. It’s a fun way to get everyone involved in creating classroom decor.
