Aims of the course

Studying an IB in visual arts you will be supported in the development of your own artistic practice.Our aim is that by studying visual arts you:

Develop a visual language through which to communicate your thoughts and ideas.

Develop the balance between creativity and discipline that underpins an art and design practice.

Understand the role of visual arts in contemporary and historic culture.

Course outline

The visual arts course is an 18month journey in which you will identify your own areas of artistic interest and through research, exploration and practice develop the skills, understanding and ways of thinking to create a body of artwork.

We start by exploring visual language, getting to know, understand and use the formal elements, drawing with purpose, recognising that there are multiple ways of drawing and seeing with intent, recording observations of the world around you to inform your own work. In the first term you will be identifying the areas of art and design that interest you and that will form the foundation of your artistic explorations. As we move through year 12 there will be written assignments exploring artists/designers relevant to your interests, personalised and targeted practical tasks to develop your understanding of materiality, process, theme or context. As you gain a greater sense of who you are as an artist designer you will consolidate your experiments and practice into completed studio pieces, it is from the collection of studio pieces that you make that you will select the work for your exhibition to be held in the February of year 13.

Assessment

IB Visual arts is a 100% coursework subject, no exams. The art and design work you make, the processes, developments and techniques that you use and the artists and designers that you study are assessed in these three components.

• An exhibition: You will curate an exhibition selected from the work you have made, Higher students must show between 8-12 pieces, Standard students between 4-8 pieces. (40%)

• A portfolio: Using your sketchbook as a guide you will present your experimentation, research and reflections as an electronic portfolio of the process of making art and design. (40%)

• An illustrated essay: In this research and critical writing element you will make visual and contextual analysis of three works of art and design. You will set yourself an enquiry question that allows you to critically evaluate these works and compare them with each other. (20%)

Careers

Studying visual arts provides a pathway into a huge range of careers. We live in a designed world in which we are bombarded with imagery, objects and visual content. You could be the one doing the bombarding. We regularly send students off to art college and university from where they end up becoming architects, illustrators, graphic designs, printmakers, fashion designers, set designers, costume designers, animators, special effects co-ordinators, model makers, prosthetics makers, film directors, advertising executives, teachers, furniture makers, interior designers, ceramicists, fashion buyers, photographers, fashion stylists and even artists.