VCE Art - Making and Exhibiting

Explore, expand and investigate

In this unit, students explore a variety of art materials, techniques, and processes across different art forms. They develop their understanding of the characteristics and properties of materials and how these influence their artistic work. Students experiment with selected materials to discover how they can be used effectively in creating artworks and how they relate to specific art forms. They also investigate the historical development of these art forms, examining how materials, techniques, and processes have changed over time. Throughout the unit, students learn about and apply safe practices when handling art materials.

Students explore the various ways artists use materials, techniques, and processes in their practice. Through exploration and experimentation, they generate ideas, discover new approaches, and develop a broader understanding of selected art forms. Students document their experimentation and artmaking in a Visual Arts journal, showing both visual and written forms to record their observations, personal reflections, and creative development.

Understand, develop and resolve

In Unit 2 Art Making and Exhibiting, students investigate how artists use materials, techniques, processes, art elements and art principles to develop aesthetic qualities and communicate ideas in artworks. They use this understanding to responding to a set theme, they progressively develop and refine their own ideas through experimentation and exploration. This process is documented in their Visual Arts journal. Students plan and produce at least one finished artwork, reflecting on their use of visual language. 

Through excursions to local and metropolitan galleries, the students also examine how artworks are selected, displayed and viewed while in exhibitions. They complete casestudies from these excursions to show their developing understanding of roles within the Arts Industry. They need to be able to identify how the roles within the gallery worked to prepare and present this exhibition to the audience. This knowledge is then applied as they work to present their own resolved art work at a group exhibition in Term 4. 

Collect, extend and connect

In this unit, students actively engage in art making through the exploration of materials, techniques and processes to develop personal creative and imaginative artworks that respond to the three artists they personally select that work in a set art from. The students explore influences, subject matter and ideas to inform their creative practice, and investigate how artists use visual language to communicate meaning.

Students document their artistic exploration in a Visual Arts journal, recording research, experimentation and the development of ideas. This includes investigating artists and artworks, exploring materials and techniques, and refining concepts to plan and produce resolved artworks that reflect their personal developing style.

A key component of the unit is the development of an exhibition proposal, where students investigate how artworks are selected, curated and presented to audiences. Students visit or view at least two exhibitions across the year, in a range of spaces such as galleries, museums or site-specific locations, to broaden their understanding of contemporary art practice. They examine the role of the curator and how exhibition design, layout and written materials used in the display help contribute to the viewer’s experience.

Students participate in critique sessions to present and discuss their work, gaining constructive feedback to refine their ideas. This process supports students in selecting the most successful concepts and identify which artworks to take forward into the following semester, where they are further developed and exhibited as resolved.

This unit supports students to build creative confidence, develop technical skills and gain insight into both art making and exhibition practices.

Consolidate, present and conserve

In Unit 4 students make connections to the artworks they have made in Unit 3, consolidating and extending their ideas and art making to further refine and resolve artworks in -specific art forms. The progressive resolution of these artworks is documented in the student’s Visual Arts journal, demonstrating their developing technical skills in a specific art form as well as their refinement and resolution of subject matter, ideas, visual language, aesthetic qualities and style. Students also reflect on their selected finished artworks and evaluate the materials, techniques and processes used to make them.

Mr Peter Hughes: phughes@cmc.vic.edu.au