A shared theme gives a team art jamming session direction while leaving everyone room to paint something personal. The key is deciding what connects the canvases before the session begins: a subject, a colour palette, a recurring shape or sections of one larger picture.
For a workplace group, the brief should be easy to understand and achievable within the available time. Someone who rarely picks up a paintbrush should have as clear a starting point as a colleague who paints regularly. Here is how to plan a session that balances individual expression with a recognisable team outcome.
Choose How the Canvases Will Work Together
Start with the finished arrangement. Will employees take their paintings home, or will the canvases become an office display? That decision affects the format.
Independent paintings under one theme give each participant control over their composition. For “Our Shared City”, one colleague might paint greenery, another a neighbourhood café and another an abstract skyline. Each canvas works on its own.
Connected canvases forming one image require more coordination. Participants paint separate sections, then bring them together. EPIC Workshops describes this approach in its team art jamming experience, where individual canvases form a larger picture and groups discuss its connection to the chosen theme.
Choose independent paintings for greater personal freedom and connected canvases when you want participants to negotiate shared visual decisions. Agree on the format before preparing references.
Pick a Theme People Can Turn Into Pictures
A useful theme suggests things people can actually paint. “Excellence” may sound suitable for a corporate event, but it leaves beginners wondering where to start. “Small Actions That Help Us Grow” offers clearer possibilities: roots, stepping stones, supporting hands or branching paths.
For a team in Singapore, consider these prompts:
- Our Singapore, Our Perspectives: neighbourhood scenes, familiar journeys or favourite green spaces.
- A Garden of Different Strengths: each person contributes a plant, flower or abstract organic form.
- Where We Go Next: participants interpret future possibilities through paths, horizons or imagined places.
Offer two or three options and use a short vote to choose. Keep the wording broad enough for colleagues with different backgrounds, including those who have recently arrived in Singapore.
Avoid themes that require employees to reveal personal struggles or explain their career ambitions. People should be able to participate comfortably through everyday observations and imagination.
Write a Brief With Only the Necessary Rules
Once the theme is chosen, separate the shared requirements from personal choices.
A workable brief might read:
Paint your interpretation of “A Garden of Different Strengths”. Use green somewhere in your painting and keep your canvas upright. Choose your own subject, style and remaining colours.
That gives the collection a visible connection without prescribing every brushstroke. Matching orientation and one recurring colour may be enough for independent paintings. Adding compulsory slogans, exact layouts and several required symbols can make the task unnecessarily restrictive.
Show a few varied references: a simple silhouette, an abstract arrangement and a more detailed example. Explain that these illustrate possible approaches. Participants can simplify, combine or develop their own ideas.
Ask someone outside the planning group to read the brief. If they cannot suggest a subject quickly, make the prompt more concrete.
Prepare Connected Canvases Before Painting Starts
If the canvases must join into one image, settle the layout first. Number each canvas on the back and mark its orientation. Keep a small diagram showing where every piece belongs.
Then agree on the features that cross between canvases. A river, horizon or branch needs matching entry and exit points along neighbouring edges. Place the canvases together for an initial pencil check before anyone commits to paint.
Where a background continues across several pieces, agree on its colour and prepare enough consistently mixed paint with the facilitator’s guidance. Let individual sections differ in texture and detail where continuity is less critical.
Distribute the work fairly. Avoid assigning one person an intricate central subject while another receives only a plain corner. Give every participant something meaningful to contribute, and check adjoining sections again before the final details.
Build the Schedule Around Painting Time
EPIC Workshops’ art jamming workshop in Singapore lists a duration of one to one and a half hours, with trainer guidance and freedom for participants to create their own work. Confirm the timing for your chosen format when booking.
For an agreed 90-minute session, a suggested schedule is:
| Activity | Time |
| Introduce the theme and demonstrate basic techniques | 10 minutes |
| Choose subjects and sketch compositions | 10 minutes |
| Paint, with a brief progress check | 50 minutes |
| View the collection and share observations | 10 minutes |
| Photograph, label and prepare artworks for transport | 10 minutes |
Keep speeches outside the painting slot. For larger groups, invite participants to share at their tables rather than requiring a presentation from everyone.
Ask the facilitator whether the design and paint application leave enough time for safe handling. Packing time should not assume every surface will already be dry.
Make Participation Comfortable for Different Abilities
Ask privately before the event whether anyone needs adjustments to seating, tool handling or instructions. Share relevant requirements with the organiser early so suitable arrangements can be discussed.
During the session, provide clear starting options without dividing people into “good” and “bad” painters. A bold shape, repeated pattern or limited palette can be a satisfying complete design. More confident participants can add detail without setting the standard for everyone else.
Encourage colleagues to ask before helping with another person’s canvas. Advice can be useful; painting over someone’s work without permission removes their ownership.
Keep sharing optional and avoid ranking the results. Questions such as “Which part did you most enjoy painting?” invite conversation without turning the activity into an assessment.
Confirm the Venue and the Artwork’s Destination
Before booking, send the organiser your headcount, preferred date, venue, theme and canvas format. Request confirmation of canvas dimensions, materials, facilitation, setup requirements and the full quotation.
EPIC’s canvas art jamming workshop lists canvases, acrylic paints, brushes, palettes, aprons and easels, with sessions available at its studio or an external venue. Confirm the arrangements for your booking.
For an office session, allow space for painting, shared supplies and a separate area for finished work. Check table protection, water access and cleanup responsibilities.
Tell employees beforehand whether their paintings will go home or remain at work. For a shared display, measure the intended wall and agree on mounting arrangements. For take-home pieces, plan protection against accidental contact and rain during the journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does everyone need painting experience?
No. EPIC states that its art jamming workshops welcome beginners. Choose manageable subjects and request an introductory demonstration when discussing the session.
Should everyone use the same colours?
Only if the design needs it. One shared accent colour can connect independent paintings; joined backgrounds usually need closer colour coordination.
Can we include company values in the theme?
Yes. Translate a value into a visual prompt. For example, “support” could become bridges, roots or interlocking shapes, with employees choosing their own interpretation.
What happens if someone finishes early?
Offer optional details, a title card or time to view other paintings. Ask them to offer help only with the other painter’s agreement.
What if someone cannot attend at the last minute?
Independent canvases are easier to accommodate. For a connected image, plan a simple spare section that can be reassigned without overloading another participant.