Visual Art

Visual Art

The aims of the MYP Art Program are to encourage and enable students to:
 

• Create and present art
• Develop skills specific to the discipline 
• Engage in a process of creative exploration and (self-) discovery 
• Make purposeful connections between investigation and practice 
• Understand the relationship between art and its contexts 
• Respond to and reflect on art and deepen their understanding of the world

Skills
Developed as part of a concept driven, context based curriculum, the program gives students the opportunity to study a wide range of skills, both practical and digital. These skills enable students to create a wide range of artistic responses over the program, in areas such as jewelery, ceramics, installation art, drawing,  painting, sculpture, graphics, photography and printmaking.

Grade 6
The first course in the MYP Art Program enables students to build their creative thinking, self management and affective skills. They explore the various ways artists create “portraiture” from traditional to contemporary styles with varying approaches. Through their inquiry, they explore the concept of Identity and how artists can represent people's identity using and developing their understanding of the visual elements and principles of design. Students develop their understanding of what it means to communicate their own identity through their personalized portraits. They also have the opportunity to experiment and explore in the art studio and discover new materials, techniques and applications for creating artwork. Through exploration and play, they make new discoveries, and develop wet and dry media skills whilst expressing and constructing meaning.

Grade 7
Our students are confronted daily with images of beauty and perfection. The effect on the students' understanding of what is normal and achievable can become distorted. Inquiring into the concepts of ‘Aesthetics’ and ‘Visual Culture’ whilst exploring the world around them gives our students a chance to reflect on whether we should continue to focus on the ideal, or challenge this and celebrate reality and imperfections. Our Grade 7 artists explore how Art is not solely defined by painting and drawing. They are introduced to the underlying concepts of Installation Art in its many forms and how it can transform spaces into inspiring and thought provoking works of art. They develop skills in handling a range of 3D materials such as wood, fabric, clay and wire to plan and propose a piece to be installed in a location of their choosing on campus.

Grade 8
Students explore the concept of ‘Connections’ and reflect on the history of printmaking as a means of communicating messages through replicable imagery. They investigate prints from various artists from different time periods and geographical locations, and explore how those artists represented their culture in their imagery.  As they develop their own artistic intention for a series of prints to represent something of significance in their own culture, they develop their responsibilities in expressing their culture and making connections to their culture as an artist. Students also explore the ways in which time, place and space can be communicated through the use of inanimate objects, otherwise known as a Still Life. These artworks capture a moment in time and can be interpreted by the artist and audience in a variety of ways. They can communicate a personal, historical, cultural, religious, philosophical or symbolic narrative. Their inquiry allows them to experiment and explore a range of observational drawing and painting techniques as well as photography methods to create their final piece.