Visual Arts

All students, from 3-year-olds in our PK3 classes to 10 and 11-year olds in Grade 5, experience many different ways to express themselves through visual art. This is an integral part of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), as it provides a way for students to communicate and explore the world around them. Our students are stimulated to think and to articulate their thoughts in new ways, using a variety of media and technologies, and are offered opportunities to understand art through historical, social, and cultural perspectives. We believe that art is fundamental to the development of the whole child, promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and social interaction.

 

Throughout the PYP, art engagements are driven by Units of Inquiry and student experiences. In particular, students are invited to create art and to respond to it. Even the very youngest children in PYP are exposed to a wide range of techniques and ways of expressing themselves artistically. Throughout their PYP journey, our students are exposed to a broad range of experiences including architecture, book-making, collage, costume design, drawing, graphic design, film, illustration, industrial design, installation, jewellery, land art, mask making, and mixed media creations. Wherever possible, our students have the opportunity to experience visual arts beyond their own creations; we achieve this by inviting artists into our school and visiting galleries and museums. Mulgrave students in the PYP appreciate the many aspects of visual arts created locally and globally, now and in the past, by a diverse range of people.

Middle Years Programme (MYP) Visual Arts is a required course each year from Grade 6 through Grade 9 and an elective in Grade 10. The programme allows students to develop creative responses through a variety of media including drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, mixed media, photography, and digital arts. Throughout the programme, students engage with local and international artists through investigations, field trips to galleries, and our Artist in Residence programme.
 
MYP Visual Arts provides students with a solid framework in the creative process, technical skills, and techniques. Our students develop specific visual arts vocabulary to help them articulate their knowledge and create an understanding and appreciation of the global and cultural diversity of artwork. By continuously working through the creative process, students practice divergent and convergent thinking skills to help them find their own creative expression. The IB programme scaffolds students’ ability to think critically about the context of their work in the art world and take risks, and challenges them to push their creative potential. The skills learned in the visual arts can be applied across the curriculum and in students’ endeavours outside of school.
 
In Grade 10, visual arts becomes an elective course where students hone their skills through 2D, 3D, new media, and collaborative projects. Our choice-based curriculum allows them to further develop their individual artistic voice through critical investigation, the creative process, reflection, and critique. For those who would like to continue to Diploma Programme Visual Arts, MYP Visual Arts provides the foundation skills and frameworks for students to build upon and achieve success.

During their two-year Diploma Programme (DP), students engage in more creative ways of self expression, grow into more well-rounded individuals, and build creative confidence for the rest of their lives. In Grade 11 students focus on developing skills and pushing the boundaries in 2D, 3D, and new media while participating in rigorous critical investigation. Grade 12 students pursue a self-selected area of interest for their exhibition, which is the culmination of the course.
 
A major aspect of DP Visual Arts is investigating artwork. As such, students attend a multitude of field trips to see work firsthand at galleries and artists’ studios, and work alongside our Artist in Residence in our studio space. This exposure to the local arts scene stimulates engaging, purposeful investigation and provides students a unique entry point into their creative process and self-expression. Students act as emerging artists and gain momentum to create a coherent body of work for their exhibition in March of Grade 12. The opening of the show is a proud moment for young artists, their friends, family, and the entire Mulgrave community.
 
Students pursuing creative post-secondary opportunities are well-prepared to build their portfolios through the visual arts course and with the guidance of our teachers. Students are supported through the application process by our university counsellors and have successfully been admitted to top visual arts programmes including Emily Carr University of Art and Design, University of Arts London, The New School - Parsons School of Design, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, School of Visual Arts, School of the Art Institute Chicago, Rhode Island School of Art and Design, Cornell University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Southern California Institute of Architecture, Otis College of Art and Design, and Savannah College of Art and Design.