IBDP Visual Arts

Group 6 | Visual Arts

First Assessment 2027

What will I learn?

This course invites students to engage in art-making as inquiry, through the creation, connection and communication of ideas in the visual arts. Students develop technical and conceptual skills, building confidence as independent, imaginative practitioners. Analytical thinking, creative experimentation, critical reflection, and initiative are cultivated. The course is designed for students who wish to pursue visual arts in higher education as well as for those seeking lifelong creative enrichment.

The aims of Visual Arts are to enable students to:

• Enjoy lifelong engagement with the arts 
• Develop as imaginative, reflective and informed visual artists
• Explore and value the diversity of the arts across time, place and culture 
• Develop perceptual and analytical skills
• Develop skills, techniques and processes in order to communicate concepts and ideas 
• Critically reflect on how their work communicates meaning and refines artistic intention
• Connect their own artworks and practices with those of others, considering context and audience
• Make artwork that is influenced by personal and cultural contexts 
• Select and present resolved works for exhibition 

Students studying SL and HL are required to explore three core areas of practice:

Create

• Create artworks through inquiry, experimentation, observation, and critical thinking
• Develop personal artistic intentions informed by skills, techniques and creative strategies
• Produce a coherent body of artworks synthesizing concept, form and technique

Connect

• Investigate and connect with artworks from different times, places and cultures
• Consider the significance of context in their own and others’ artworks
• Explore methods, materials, and meaning across diverse creative practices

Communicate

• Develop skills in curating, presenting, and situating artworks in context for an audience
• Communicate artistic ideas through visual, curatorial and reflective practices

Why should I consider this course?

• You enjoy art and want to deepen and extend your creative practice
• Foster self-expression, innovation, and personal identity through artistic exploration
• Develop critical thinking and the ability to interpret and respond to the world visually
• Cultivate curiosity, imagination, and innovative thinking
• Build insight into human experience and diverse cultures through art
• Nurture creativity for wellbeing, resilience, and lifelong personal growth

Assessment

What Skills does this course provide?

• Become imaginative, informed, reflective and critical art practitioners
• Develop skills, techniques, and curatorial methods to communicate concepts and ideas
• Explore and value the diversity and dynamic nature of the arts across time, place and cultures
• Express ideas with confidence, creativity, and conceptual depth
• Develop perceptual, analytical and creative problem-solving skills
• Become reflective, critical and independent thinkers through visual practices

What Pathway Options does this course provide?

• Studying Visual Arts prepares you for further study in fine arts, design, architecture, media, and creative industries.
• Art enriches personal growth by fostering cultural awareness, empathy, and appreciation of diverse perspectives.
• Studying the arts cultivates innovation, creative thinking and resilience — key qualities valued across all professions.
• Studying the arts builds perseverance, adaptability and creative leadership for any career.