Visual Arts (a Group 6 Subject)

In order to study Visual Arts at SL, your Gr10 report grade from Visual Arts should be 5 and above. To take the course at HL, you Gr10 report grade should be 6 and above. 

The aim of the course is for students to appreciate that arts can enhance knowledge production and understanding, and help us to transform our ways of being.  Through the employment of curiosity, creativity and dialogue, the visual arts enable students to more openly, and with confidence,  engage with self, the world and others, having positive impact on our well-being and aiding our communities to flourish.

Students learn how to create, communicate and connect as artists through the engagement in creative practices and processes working with a variety of art-making forms and creative strategies. Students are encouraged to engage with the world through individual and shared experiences, imagination and action. The course fosters creativity, communication, critical thinking and collaboration — skills essential in a variety of rapidly evolving fields and professions. 

Students will ... 

• CREATE & develop their personal visual language: Investigation and observation of a variety of art-making forms and creative strategies, experimentation and consequent creation of authentic artworks. Students follow lines of inquiry from conception to realisation.  (In SL, 20, and in HL 30 teaching hours respectively,  will be  allocated to this aspect of the course.)

• CONNECT with & explore the work of other artists: Students investigate the relationship between the artists and their artworks, delve into the significance of their contexts, and situate their production into the respective contexts.  (In SL, 20, and in HL 30 teaching hours respectively,  will be  allocated to this aspect of the course.)

• learn how to COMMUNICATE artistic intentions to a variety of audiences: Students learn how to document, curate, share and situate their artworks.  (In SL, 20, and in HL 30 teaching hours respectively,  will be  allocated to this aspect of the course.)

• make art as inquiry through the INTEGRATION of the above elements - the 3Cs, developing a coherent body of resolved artworks; preparing for and working on three summative assessment tasks. (In SL, 90, and in HL 150 teaching hours respectively,  will be  allocated to this aspect of the course. )

The final grade (1-7) is a combined grade based on the Internal Assessment (40%), and the External Assessment (60%) -  in both, HL and SL.

All assessment tasks are non-examination based. The assessment model clearly differentiates the requirements between SL and HL, reflecting the teaching hours allocated at each level and the greater depth and breadth of work required in the HL course.

External Assessment (60%): two components, externally marked by the IB at the end of the course.

At Higher Level,  this assessment consists of the following two tasks:

1. The Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio (30%) that demonstrates student's development of visual language through one or more resolved artworks. HL students submit visual evidence accompanied by written materials (max. 3,000 words), and one separate text file listing the sources.

2. The Artist Project (30%) - a HL-only task focused on the student creating and situating in context an artwork that they ideate and realise. Student curates evidence how their work was informed by investigations of context, by connections with at least two artworks by different artists, and by dialogues. A short video curated by the student documents where and how the project artwork was realised and with what impact. HL students submit visual evidence and supporting written materials (max.2500 words), one video file up to three minutes long presenting the project artwork realised in the chosen context, accompanied by the artwork details and a short text with the finalised artistic intentions (100 words maximum), and one separate text file listing the sources.

At Standard Level,  this assessment consists of two tasks:

1. The Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio (40%) that demonstrates student's development of visual language through one or more resolved artworks. SL students submit  visual evidence accompanied by written materials (max. 3,000 words), and one separate text file listing the sources.

2. The Connections Study (20%) - a research study demonstrating understanding of the cultural significance of the two artworks by different artists, and the links to student’s own chosen resolved artwork and their own context. SL students submit visual evidence and supporting written materials (max.2500 words), and one separate text file listing the sources.

Internal Assessment (40%): a component internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.

At Higher Level,  this assessment consists of an HL-only task - a coherent body of work selected from student's wider production (5 resolved artworks from at least 8 of their works), accompanied by 5 artwork texts analysing each of them in a wider artistic context (1000 words), and a rationale articulating the realisation of their artistic intentions (700 words).

At Standard Level,  this assessment consists of a submission of 5 resolved artworks demonstrating student's best artistic  achievements, and a rationale articulating their artistic intentions and choices (700 words). 

Our arts studio is a space, that is used for the majority of our students' creative work, it is shaped by our students' individual lines of inquiry, making it into an inclusive and collaborative environment. 

Through debates, students reflect on the power, significance and complexity of artistic knowledge by exploring the implications of the diverse knowledge processes within arts onto the development of artistic language, style and artistic movements. In specific units, students investigate 'artivism', critically assessing the impact of societal and personal values and biases on their work, and explore the ways artists elaborate on global issues and dilemmas through their artworks.  

Ms Melissa Beachcroft - Shaw

Room: 406 - Arts Studio  |  mbeachcroft-shaw@danubeschool.com  | By appointment only.