IB Visual Arts SL & HL

Intent:

The IB Diploma Programme Visual Arts course encourages students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing visual arts from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media. The course is designed for students who want to go on to study visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment through visual arts.

Aims:

Theoretical Practice

• Compare the work of artists from different cultural contexts.

• Investigate and compare how and why different techniques have evolved and the processes involved.

• Students explore ways of communicating through visual and written means. Students make artistic choices about how to most effectively communicate knowledge and understanding.

Art Making Practice

• Make art through a process of investigation, thinking critically and experimenting with techniques to develop their own work.

• Experiment with diverse media and explore techniques for making art and developing concepts.

• Students produce a body of artwork through a process of reflection and evaluation, showing a synthesis of skill, media and concept.

Curatorial Practice

• Develop an informed response to work and exhibitions they have seen and experienced.

• Evaluate how their ongoing work communicates meaning and purpose.

• Select and present resolved works for exhibition, explain the ways in which the works are connected and discuss how artistic judgments impact the overall presentation.

Course Costs: 

$150-$300 (depending on art fields pursued) for art materials, workbook, software package and workshops.

Digital SLR Cameras are available for use.