If you are not familiar with Keith Haring or his work, I highly recommend getting more acquainted with this Keith Haring art project. He is such an inspiring artist for many reasons, not just his work but also as a human. There is so much to love.
An American artist associated with both Pop Art and Graffiti, his style is distinct, mostly made from simple shapes and lines, often black and white, usually untitled creating space for interpretation and provoking thought. He was known for creating work on the NYC subway in the spaces usually designated for ads drawing in chalk in public spaces, unconcerned about being paid for the work or how long it lasted.
“I give my drawings away to help make the world a better place.” ~Keith Haring
While he rarely commented on interpretations of his work, he took a clear and strong stand against racism, homophobia and any form of ignorance. After gaining recognition as an artist, he began being commissioned for large scale works such as murals. There is much more to the legacy and timeline of his life and work, but I focused on this little part for this project.
I love studying these murals with children because for these works he often collaborated with children.
We started by reading this book. The illustrations include some of his original works and in the back there is a bio, photos of Haring and family and lots of photos of his works. My daughter absolutely loved this book that we got it at the library. She asked to put it on her ‘list”. I loved that it highlighted his desire to make art for everyone and accessible for everyone.
The murals map on the official website can be used to show photos of several murals, Haring working on murals, and photos of him with kids who helped. You can find that page here. I drew attention to how Haring would usually do the larger outlines and then let the kids fill in themselves.
We also spent some time focusing on the “CityKids Speak on Liberty” banner he created with 1,000 kids from all over New York City. You can read about it here. And, I also recommend doing an image search on it to find up close photos. It’s a moving piece with an important purpose and message. As always, I let my child lead this conversation and observation of his work, using the steps outlined in this post.
This Keith Haring art project has bonuses: 2 activities! 3 free printables!
Activity 1 – Keith Haring art project: Collaborative Coloring Page
Supplies:
- Colored Washable Markers
- Coloring page printable linked below!
After looking at and talking about Haring’s collaborations with children, I explained that she could use the coloring page just like kids did with Keith Haring’s murals. I told her to fill it in how ever she would like to. She loved it!
Activity 2 – Keith Haring Art Project: Symbol Drawing
Supplies:
- Sharpie
- White paper or construction paper
- Reference printable linked below
First, choose a Shape and draw it in the middle of your page using a sharpie.
Next, draw a horizontal line from the edge of the paper to each side of your shape.
Then, draw small vertical lines radiating from the top of your shape.
After you draw the radiating lines, draw some quick horizontal lines from the bottom of your middle line to the end of your shape.
Draw some alternating arrows to create a fun design, or create a line or two of your own design!
Next, draw some more lines or symbols. I used dashed lines. Finally add some circles or another shape to finish the composition! Your Keith Haring art project is complete!
That’s it!
I hope you enjoyed this Keith Haring art project! We’d LOVE to see YOUR Keith Haring inspired artwork! Tag me on social media and use the hashtag #amybaileyart or comment below to let me know how it went!
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