Visual Arts

The Visual Arts curriculum enriches students, communities, and societies by nurturing well-rounded, educated citizens. It connects students with culture and context, fostering a deeper appreciation of diverse values and perspectives. The curriculum stimulates imagination, innovation, creativity, and a sense of well-being, encouraging students to collaborate, overcome challenges, and find innovative solutions. Through exploration, students gain competency with materials and develop high-level thinking skills. They investigate artistic elements, processes, and techniques using a variety of materials, tools, and environments, and learn to communicate emotions, thoughts, meanings, and concepts creatively through visual arts. 

• Explore ways in which the visual arts can have a powerful and positive impact.

• Understand and apply learning from artists in various contexts and from diverse cultures. What has motivated selected artists in the communication of ideas and impacted their choices of media?

• Learn to compile portfolios showcasing their artwork throughout the unit. Portfolios will include a variety of pieces representing different styles, techniques, and themes.

• Explore media and take risks with their application, to appreciate how the inherent qualities of different media - and chance - may enhance the visual representation of ideas. Students will work in traditional media, painting, drawing, three-dimensional media, and emerging media using digital technology.

• Develop and refine ideas through a process of dialogical thinking, using specialist art terms in a visual form, and addressing different perspectives in the formulation of their own ideas.

• Curate a range of outcomes that express a theme through visual, spatial and written means.

Grade 9 Course

• Overview  
  The UWC Grade 9 Visual Arts curriculum is designed to inspire students to uncover their personal artistic voices while exploring how art can address critical global and personal issues. Through a dynamic blend of traditional and contemporary approaches, students engage in creative expression and technical skill-building, developing their capacity to become socially and environmentally conscious artists. These units foster the belief that art is a transformative force, empowering students to advocate for positive change in their communities and the world. 
  
  

• Vanitas Art and the SDGs  
  In this foundational unit, students explore the concept of *Vanitas* art, drawing connections between traditional motifs and contemporary global challenges. Through photography, mixed media, printmaking, and drawing, students create compositions that examine the sustainability of our world. By linking their work to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), students learn to communicate complex ideas visually, building their technical proficiency and conceptual depth. 
  
  

• Allegory in 3D  
  Building on their 2D skills, students transition to three-dimensional artmaking, where they use allegorical motifs to complement the creation of 3D sculptures and vases. This unit challenges students to think spatially, exploring form, texture, and symbolism. By combining tactile engagement with innovation, they experiment with various materials and techniques, deepening their understanding of how art can convey layered meaning. 
  
  

• Community Impact  
  The curriculum culminates with a community-based art project that emphasizes the real-world impact of art. Students collaborate on initiatives that directly benefit their school or local community, creating artwork that inspires change and raises awareness about critical issues. This experience provides students with a firsthand understanding of how art can be a tool for advocacy and transformation, instilling a sense of responsibility and pride in their creative contributions. 
  
  

• Curation & Celebration
  Students have an opportunity to curate, organise and celebrate their artwork alongside the school community. This allows students the opportunity to understand the importance of curation and display, and the power of their artwork when viewed through the eyes of the wider school community. 

Grade 10 Course

• Overview
  The UWC Grade 10 Visual Arts curriculum is designed to empower students to find their personal artistic voices while raising awareness of the critical issues that impact them both personally and globally. Through creative expression and exploration, students will not only develop their artistic skills but also become advocates for positive change in their community and the world. This unit fosters the belief that art is a powerful medium for addressing global challenges and encourages students to become socially and environmentally conscious artists.

• Emphatic Storytelling
  This unit serves as a catalyst for our learners to explore self-expression through a multifaceted approach, encompassing concept development, brainstorming, storyboarding, and collaboration. By establishing this conceptual foundation, students embark on a creative journey where they delve into a rich repertoire of techniques and materials. These include photography, drawing, painting, colour study, and printmaking, providing them with diverse avenues to unleash their creative potential.

• Cardboard Canvas - 3D
  Transitioning from 2D mediums, this unit strongly emphasises collaboration, tactile engagement, and innovation in artistic endeavours. Learners are tasked with the creative challenge of constructing intricate cardboard structures, employing a diverse array of techniques and processes to breathe life into their ideas and concepts.

• Community Impact
  The course culminates in a community-focused art project that emphasizes the transformative potential of art in real-world contexts. Students engage in collaborative initiatives designed to address meaningful challenges within their school or local community, creating artworks that provoke thought, inspire action, and raise awareness of critical issues. This project deepens students' understanding of art as a powerful medium for advocacy and societal change, fostering a sense of agency and responsibility while enabling them to see the tangible impact of their creative contributions. 

• Curation & Celebration
  Students have an opportunity to curate, organise and celebrate their artwork alongside the school community. This allows students to understand the importance of curation and display, and the power of their artwork when viewed through the eyes of the wider school community. 

Artistic and Aesthetic Skills

• Working with drawing as a foundational skill of Art

• Analysing and understanding the use of the elements and principles of Art

• Thinking creatively and with innovation 

• Giving abstract ideas visual form (and vice versa)

• Applying theories of composition, framing, and abstraction

• Understanding current issues in art and design

Analytical and Communication Skills

• Gathering, analysing, and interpreting information

• Viewing issues from multiple perspectives through weighing options

• Exploring work using the elements and principles of Art

• Presenting and displaying work for feedback and assessment

• Preparing a portfolio for self-fulfilment and assessment 

• Communicating visually 

• Utilising digital media as an alternative to traditional media

Technical Skills

• Understanding qualities and limitations of a variety of media, refining and developing them with artistic intentions

• Developing concepts of craftsmanship for personal satisfaction

• Drawing and photographing as ways to develop and present ideas

• Reflecting on processes for refinement and alignment to set tasks

1. What is the goal of the Visual Art course in Grades 9 & 10?

Our course helps students develop their artistic voice while learning how art connects to culture, society, and global issues. Students explore ideas, experiment with materials, and build confidence across drawing, photography, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and digital media. The curriculum emphasises creativity, critical thinking, social awareness, and personal expression.

2. Do I need to be “good at drawing” to succeed in this course?

No. This course is designed to develop skills from any starting point. You will learn techniques step-by-step, experiment widely, and build confidence across different media. Curiosity, effort, and willingness to explore matter more than prior experience.

3. What kind of artwork will I make in Grade 9?

Grade 9 students explore a range of media including photography, drawing, printmaking, colour studies, and clay sculpture. Projects such as the Vanitas Unit, 2D Exploration, Clay (Coiled Pot) and UWC Design Project allow students to develop technical skills while expressing ideas about sustainability, identity, and storytelling.

4. What kind of artwork will I make in Grade 10?

Grade 10 extends your skills through portrait photography, oil painting, cardboard architecture, and a partially self-directed creative unit (“From Heart to Art”). Units encourage deeper inquiry, conceptual development, technical growth, and personal voice

5. What is the Digital Portfolio, and why is it important?

Your Digital Portfolio documents your entire learning journey. It includes:

• experimentation with materials and techniques
  
  

• artist research and reflections
  
  

• ideas, mind maps, and composition studies
  
  

• photographs of outcomes
  
  

• curatorial planning and evaluations
  
  

You will produce 5–10 pages per unit, with several checkpoints for feedback. This prepares you for future IB Visual Arts study and strengthens your artistic thinking.

6. Will I learn about artists?

Absolutely. Artist research is a core part of learning. You will study traditional, contemporary, and global artists — from Vanitas painters to Laurie Frankel, Swoon, Kollwitz, Damian Siqueiros, Egon Schiele, Jenny Saville, and others depending on the unit. You learn how artists think, make decisions, and respond to their world, and use these insights to develop your own work.

7. How is the course connected to global issues and community engagement?

We explore themes such as sustainability, identity, culture, and social awareness — and connect artmaking to real-world contexts wherever possible.
We often work within the wider community (school, local partners, and Singapore’s cultural landscape) to link our artmaking to authentic, real-world situations where art can be used to better our community. Units like the UWC Design Project, Cardboard Architecture, and curated exhibitions help students understand the impact art can have beyond the classroom.

8. How is my work assessed?

Assessment is based on three strands that run throughout the Grade 9 & 10 course:

• Responding to Art

Understanding how artists communicate ideas, analysing artworks, exploring context, and making connections to your own developing practice.

• Creative Process

Experimentation, exploration, material testing, idea development, reflection, refinement, and the purposeful evolution of your artwork.

• Presenting & Connecting Art

Curating outcomes, considering context and audience, presenting work thoughtfully, and understanding how artwork engages viewers and communities.

9. What skills will I learn?

You will develop a broad skill set including:

• visual literacy and observational drawing
  
  

• photography and composition
  
  

• painting and colour theory
  
  

• printmaking and mixed media
  
  

• 3D building and sculpture
  
  

• research and critical analysis
  
  

• curation and exhibition design
  
  

• problem solving, creative risk-taking, time management, and communication
  
  

These skills prepare you for IB Visual Arts and any design-related pathways.

10. Do we get to exhibit our work?

Yes! Curation is built into the course. Both Grade 9 and 10 students work toward an end-of-year exhibition where they present artworks, write artwork texts, and plan their display. It’s a chance to celebrate your work and share your voice with the school community.

11. What materials do I need to bring?

Just a pencil — we provide everything else you need.

12. Will this help me if I want to take IB Visual Arts?

Yes — very strongly. The Grade 9–10 course mirrors many aspects of the new IB Visual Arts structure:

• inquiry
  
  

• experimentation
  
  

• artist research
  
  

• portfolio development
  
  

• curatorial practice
  
  

• personal voice
  
  

Students who complete this course enter IB Visual Arts with more confidence, stronger technical skills, and a clearer sense of their artistic identity.

13. What if I’m not planning to study art in upper school?

You will still gain highly transferable skills:

• creative problem-solving
  
  

• project planning
  
  

• collaboration
  
  

• critical analysis
  
  

• resilience and adaptability
  
  

• visual communication
  
  

These support future pathways in design, architecture, engineering, film, media, psychology, science, technology, and many creative or analytical fields.

14. How much independence will I have?

Independence is important in Visual Art. As you move through Grade 9 and 10, you’ll have more and more independence in choosing ideas, materials, artists, and directions for your work. By the end of Grade 10, you’ll be confidently shaping your own artmaking experiences and preparing for the independence required in IB Visual Arts.