Sustained Investigations

INTRODUCTION

Sustained Investigations account for 60% of the AP Portfolio score, and focus on artworks that demonstrate inquiry though “practice, experimentation, and revision” over time. Part-way through the first semester you will complete and submit a Sustained Investigation Project Proposal, which will identify the nature of your sustained investigation in terms of common themes, materials, ideas, and processes that you will pursue within your body of works. You will submit fifteen images total in this category for the portfolio, along with a written statement indicating the ideas, materials, and processes used in each work.

Each image you submit in this category does not necessarily have to be a unique artwork: you may, for example, submit images that document process or detail, or in some cases have two or three images that document practice, experimentation, and revision. Ideally, you will submit 5 to 10 different artworks in this category. The biweekly progress checks you complete for this course are intended to help you curate material for this section of the exam.

An official rubric for the Sustained Investigation section for all 3 AP portfolios can be viewed at right or in situ here (pp. 5-7).