You are invited to participate in the International Collection of Child Art at Milner Library, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. It is an established research center where scholars from various fields study the visual expressions of children and adolescents. Presently the collection has over 8,500 examples of children's artwork from numerous parts of the world and we continually increase this resource. Government agencies, public and private schools, as well as individuals are encouraged to contribute original drawings, paintings, and prints to the International Collection of Child Art. We desire to have examples from groups that represent a cross-section of children in your country. Each participating institution, agency, or person will be officially recognized in the records of the collection. Additional information about the resources, traveling exhibits, and history of the collection is available on this web site.

Basic information needed for each piece of artwork

For research purposes, we must have the following information on each piece of artwork. Items 1 through 4 are used for cross-indexing each piece. Additional information is asked for on the Artwork Information Sheet (PDF, 21.7 KB).

1. Country or culture
2. Age (2 to 20)
3. Gender
4. Title of the work
5. Name of the child
6. Name of the school
7. A statement by the young artist about his/her artwork (it is not always possible to get this statement, but it is extremely valuable for research purposes)
8. Who taught the lesson in which the artwork was produced

No information provided will directly identify children providing the artwork. Only first names, ages, sex, country of origin, and title of the art will be used in a public venue. Artwork will be used only in a professional, ethical manner, for purposes approved by the Curator of the International Collection of Child Art.

How to arrange to collect and send the artwork

• A letter or e-mail should be sent to the curator of the collection giving information about the material and approximate weight
• The curator will reply recommending the best method of shipping the artwork and information relative to covering the shipping costs
• The work should be two-dimensional only, and SHOULD NOT BE MATTED, but should be mailed in a strong cardboard box

THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN FOURTEEN LANGUAGES IN ADDITION TO ENGLISH. Contact the curator for more details.

Suggested topics for collecting the artwork

As you know, the themes are crucial to collecting artwork which is personal to children who come from a great variety of backgrounds and environments, not to mention a great range of ages and as a result, a wide variety of maturity levels. We hope to elicit information in the artwork which is from the child's personal experiences. The following sample topics bring out much individual interpretation of local, personal, and cultural information in the artwork.

• Getting Ready for School
• I Help My Family
• When I Grow Up
• Games I Like to Play
• My Favorite Toy
• My Favorite Holiday
• If I Had a Pet
• Going Shopping
• My Home Town
• My Favorite Place