- Definition
An installation is a large artwork, often made for a specific place, that might involve you walking through it or interacting with it.
An artist filling a gallery with hundreds of hanging lights that change colour as you walk among them is an installation.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: An art installation is like turning a whole room into a giant, walk-through piece of art, where you're part of the experience.
Ask your child: If you turned your room into an art piece, what would it feel like inside?
Common mix-up: Kids might think an installation is just a big sculpture placed in a room. The key is that the entire space—walls, floor, sound, light—is part of the artwork itself, and you often walk through it.
Examples
- A collection of video screens arranged on a forest path, each playing a different sound.
- A room where the floor is covered in sand and the walls are painted to look like a desert sky.
installation is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
