The visual arts programme at MEF IS encourages students to use their own inspiration to drive their creativity and to create personally meaningful artwork through experimentation with different media, practice of new and learned techniques, and development of artistic behaviors. Students investigate the role the arts play in their lives and in the world while continuously reflecting on their ideas and work. As students progress through middle school, they are offered more choice in materials, media, and content themes, culminating in a self-inspired and self-directed final project. The main strands and substrands in art are as follows:

Knowledge and understanding

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the art form studied, including concepts, processes, and the use of subject specific terminology
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the art form in original or displaced contexts
• Use acquired knowledge to inform purposefully artistic decisions in the process of creating artwork

Application

• Acquisition and development of the skills and techniques of the art form studied
• Application of skills and techniques to create, perform, and/or present art.

Thinking Creatively

• Develop a feasible, clear, imaginative and coherent artistic intention
• Demonstrate a range and depth of creative-thinking behaviours
• Demonstrate the exploration of ideas to shape artistic intention to a point of realization

Respond

• Construct meaning and transfer learning to new settings
• Create an artistic response that intends to reflect or impact on the world around them
• Critique the artwork of self and others