For many of Kim Salerno's 40 students, it was the first time they'd ever entered the Newport Art Museum. But on Monday, the University of Rhode Island students drew lines, painted huge shapes and taped designs on the walls of the museum to help their art professor install "Big Miniature," which opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 12.

Salerno first created the installation—originally titled "Big Miniature: Moving Through a Picture of a Room" on her grant proposal—at the Cushing Martin Gallery with students at Stonehill College in Easton, MA, in 2008. A portion of the work was shown at the University of Rhode Island, but this is the first time the colorful, multi-part installation will be shown in its entirety in Rhode Island.

"I kind of always wanted to do it with my students…" said the Newport resident who's taught at URI for five years, "because it's an installation that does require a lot of manpower."

Students in Salerno's two-dimensional design and drawing classes carpooled to the museum during class time and painted colorful, whimsical designs on the walls, such as a retro chair, in the Wright Gallery on the main floor of the Newport Art Museum's Griswold House. An outline of a room was projected on the wall and students traced the edges with painters tape.

Salerno said she began with a two-dimensional domestic scene and took it apart to "reorient and reconstruct it" within the room.

"I've been working with decorative painting and looking at Indian miniatures for a long time, but I was trained as an architect so this was a way to really mesh those two interests," she said.

The final installation includes vibrant, floating panels that will fill the room.

"You can move through, so it has a playhouse feel," Salerno said.

The exhibit opens on Friday, Nov. 12, 5-7 p.m., during the Members' Reception in conjunction with "NetWorks 2009-2010" and "Photographers Guild Members' Exhibition." Admission is free for NAM members and $10 for non-members.

"Big Miniature" remains on display through Jan. 9, 2011.

The Newport Art Museum is located at 76 Bellevue Ave. in Newport. (401) 848-8200. www.newportartmuseum.org. Hours: Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun., noon-4 p.m. Regular admission: $10; $8 seniors (65+), $6 students & military with valid ID, free for children 5 & under and for NAM members.

For more information about Kim Salerno, visit www.kimsalerno.com.