Collage My Life

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Introduce participants to one another using self-selected visual artifacts and brief personal stories.

Use it when: Use at the start of a multi-session program or team workshop to introduce participants without relying solely on traditional job titles or verbal resumes.

Skip it when: Skip when participants lack time or devices for visual assembly, or when the agenda requires a rapid two-minute verbal check-in.

Group arrangement: Individual visual assembly, followed by breakout groups of 3 or 4 (groups of 2 or 5 used as needed for uneven totals).

Timing: UWT suggested standard 15-minute runtime based on Knowmium icebreaker guidelines.

Materials and tools

• Blank paper and marker pens (for in-person participants)
• Magazines, printed icon sheets, or access to free digital image sites like Pixabay or Smithsonian Open Access
• Shared virtual whiteboard or digital slide deck (for remote and hybrid participants)
• A countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare a shared digital board with one designated workspace or slide per person, or place paper and drawing supplies on room tables.
2. Post the target count of 3 to 5 images and prompt categories where all participants can see them.

Say this to open

Take the next five minutes to create a quick collage of three to five images, icons, or drawings that tell us something about you. You might include a hobby, a favorite place, or a visual metaphor for how you work. You do not need artistic skill. You choose what to share.

How to run it

1. Introduce and create collages 5 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Direct participants to assemble 3 to 5 images, icons, or simple sketches on paper or their designated digital slide. A neutral example: a bicycle icon for a daily commute, a coffee cup for a morning habit, and a picture of a trail for weekend hiking. Participants stop creating when the timer sounds.

2. Share in breakout groups 6 minutes

   Form groups of 3 or 4 (or 2 to 5 to accommodate any odd attendance counts). Each person takes up to 75 to 90 seconds to show their collage and explain their choices. Group members listen and may ask one brief clarifying question per turn.

3. Whole-room gallery view 2 minutes

   Bring the whole group together. In-person participants hold up paper collages while online participants view the shared digital board. Invite participants to call out two or three common themes or recurring symbols they notice across the gallery.

4. Debrief 2 minutes

   Ask the group one reflection question. Invite two volunteers to respond to the full room, keeping remarks under 60 seconds each.

Debrief questions

• What unexpected similarity or common theme did you discover in your group?
• How did choosing an image change the way you introduced yourself compared to a standard title or bio?

Finished output: A completed visual collage for each participant containing 3 to 5 personal symbols or images, shared either physically or on a digital workspace.

Remote

Use a shared workspace such as Miro, Mural, or Google Slides where each participant has a named slide or box. Provide links to open image sites. Send participants to breakout rooms of 3 or 4 to screen-share their boards for six minutes, then return to the main room for gallery view.

Hybrid

All participants, in-person and remote, place their images onto a shared digital slide deck (in-person participants may sketch on paper and photograph it to upload, or select digital icons directly). Form mixed or parallel breakout groups depending on room acoustics. For mixed groups, ensure in-person pods have a laptop with microphone and camera so remote members can see collages and speak on equal footing.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may use simple text words, basic geometric shapes, or verbal descriptions instead of searching for or drawing visual art.
• Anyone may decline to disclose personal home life by choosing neutral work-related symbols, tools, or abstract professional metaphors.

If the session gets stuck

A participant spends all their time searching the web for perfect imagery and does not assemble anything.

Remind participants at the two-minute mark that basic stick figures, text labels, or simple shape sketches are completely valid.

A group runs short on time before the final member can share.

Announce time checks every 90 seconds so groups know precisely when to pass the speaking turn.

Terms used here

• Collage: An assemblage of diverse visual elements such as photos, icons, or sketches placed together on a single surface.