Planning

VCE Art Creative Practice is focused on the practice of artists; that is, how artists think and work. The learning activities that students undertake in each unit are reflective of art practice. Therefore the research of artists is the key link to structuring the study. The map on page 11 of the study design links the three learning areas of Experiential learning, Inquiry learning and Project-based learning. The Creative Practice model also promotes the different learning that students will undertake in each unit.

Experiential learning guides the students through a series of experiences in Making and Responding to art. Students reflect on their experiences and conceptualise the ideas evoked by their experiences. They experiment with and expand upon these ideas in their art practice.

Inquiry learning is an active process of exploration and experimentation where the end result is not fixed or known. Through Making and Responding, students acquire experimental and analytical skills to develop their art practice.

Project-based learning focuses on specific projects that often begin with a challenging question or problem that engages the students in problem-solving, decision-making and reflection using their art practice.

Experiential learning, inquiry learning and project-based learning

Units 3 and 4: Project-based learning

• Units 3 and 4, Areas of Study 1 and 2 should be considered as an overall project or case study. The outcome of the four units is the production of a Body of Work. Students should begin Unit 3 by forming an overarching question or problem that becomes the focus of their Body of Work.
• The Creative Practice should be unpacked with the students as it is the framework for the investigation and the Body of Work. The points under each component could be posed as inquiry questions for students.
• The Interpretive Lens questions can also assist in developing a structure for researching artists, artworks and practices. The questions can also assist with developing students’ evaluation and interpretation questions.
• The relationships between the artist, artwork, audiences and contexts can form the structure for an inquiry for the Body of Work. A series of questions could be developed to unpack those relationships.
• Units 1 and 2 have a range of activities and questions that scaffold an inquiry for students. Similar activities can structure the inquiry in Units 3 and 4. Therefore, teachers should plan the teaching and learning for these areas of study in Units 3 and 4 at the commencement of Unit 3.

The following guiding questions and learning activities can scaffold project based learning:

Creative and Critical Thinking are interrelated processes that underpin Making and Responding, the Creative Practice and the use of the Interpretive Lenses. Creative and Critical Thinking processes can be structured through learning approaches governed by three strands: Questions and possibilities, Reasoning and Meta-Cognition. These strands are linked to the Victorian Curriculum Critical and Creative Thinking capability. Critical and Creative Thinking - Structure - Victorian Curriculum.

Questions and possibilities

Questions and questioning play a role in enabling learning and learning dispositions in inquiry learning. Questions and possibilities develop imaginative as well as intuitive capacity, as well as formulating a curious and speculative disposition. Using questioning students respond to artworks, propose new ideas and develop artworks. Questions can prompt, redirect, reinforce and challenge existing knowledge, interpretations, opinions and values. Questions enable students to elaborate and extend on ideas and challenge existing ideas based on reasoning.

Reasoning

Using reasoning, students construct and evaluate ideas, viewpoints and opinions that are new and unfamiliar. Reasoning underpins how students gather, consider and evaluate data, evidence and propositions to form conclusions.

Meta-Cognition

Students identify, describe, understand, practise, develop and manage their own learning processes.

The interrelationship of Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking determines how aspects of one can be used with the other. For example, Critical Thinking is used to establish and apply criteria to critically evaluate artistic practice or art making that is generated in Creative Thinking. Creative Thinking is applied to generate new criteria to evaluate propositions in Critical Thinking in innovative and productive ways.

In Making and Responding, creative and critical thinking can be used to structure the ways in which students engage with artists and artworks. Thinking processes assist students to formulate responses in art making and responding to artworks. Students can connect information when thinking about artists and artworks and how artworks communicate meanings and messages. Creative and Critical Thinking can be used in art practice when students formulate, select and apply ideas to develop visual language and communicate meaning in artworks.

Creative and Critical Thinking involves drawing on knowledge and beliefs to reflect and evaluate practical actions, decisions and judgments. Students can use creative and critical thinking when making valued judgments in their artistic practice by deciding what to do and how to represent ideas, issues and opinions. Students engage in creative and critical thinking when they reflect on ideas, concepts and visual language to communicate meaning in artworks.

Creative and Critical Thinking processes can be scaffolded into learning activities using the following characteristics. These characteristics are defined in the Australian Curriculum Critical and Creative Thinking capability. Critical and Creative Thinking (Version 8.4) | The Australian Curriculum.

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas

Students pose questions and identify and clarify information and ideas. They organise and process information. They use questioning to investigate and analyse ideas and issues, and collect, compare and evaluate information from a range of sources.

Generating – ideas, possibilities and actions

Students create ideas and actions, considering and expanding on known actions and ideas. They imagine possibilities and connect ideas through considering alternatives, seeking solutions and putting ideas into action. They explore situations and generate alternatives to guide actions. They experiment with and assess options and actions when seeking solutions.

Analysing, synthesising and evaluating – reasoning and procedures

Students identify, consider and assess the logic and reasoning behind their choices. They differentiate the components of decisions made and actions taken and assess ideas, methods and outcomes against criteria that they or others develop.

Reflecting – thinking and processes

Students think about thinking (meta-cognition), and reflect on actions and process. They transfer knowledge into new contexts to create alternatives and open up possibilities. They apply knowledge gained in one context to clarify another.

Creative and Critical Thinking in VCE Art Creative Practice

Learning approaches using Creative and Critical Thinking can be applied across Units 1 to 4 in each area of study. Under the heading ‘Research-based art practice’ there is a table that recommends learning approaches associated with each form of research-based art practice (experiential, inquiry and project-based learning). These learning activities and guiding questions apply Creative and Critical Thinking processes. The table below also aligns approaches to Creative and Critical Thinking with the components of the Creative Practice.

Learning approaches using Creative and Critical Thinking

Strategies to develop Creative and Critical Thinking in learning can be applied to each area of study in Units 1–4. The following recommendations focus on specific activities in visual arts learning:

• Select a focus area for the inquiry, such as an artist and their practice, themes or topics that link artworks, the use of materials, techniques and processes, an artist’s response to an issue in society or the role of art in society and culture.
• Identify aims or questions derived from the focus area. These questions can be used to identify the big ideas that frame the inquiry.
• Develop provocations that could encourage students to engage with ideas and artworks in new ways. A provocation can be created by using the ideas represented in artworks or responses to artworks.
• Use the components of Creative Practice and the Interpretive Lenses to critically investigate the way artists have interpreted a range of ideas and themes about the world.
• Investigate and interpret how artists construct artworks to represent ideas and issues and communicate meaning through the use of visual language.
• Students can create artworks that represent their understanding of visual arts concepts and styles.
• Use an artwork to provoke a whole-class discussion or to develop questions that pose factual or descriptive responses through to analytical and interpretive responses. This can engage the students in rethinking, reinterpreting and justifying their opinions and claims about an artwork.
  Sample questions
  • What do you see? What are the materials and techniques that the artist has used?
  • What is your response to the artwork? What does the artwork remind you of? Can you give an example of what is similar to what you see?
  • What ideas do you think the artist is considering? What makes you think that?
  • What other artworks or ideas is the artist referencing?
  • What ideas about the contemporary world does the artist represent in their artworks? How do they represent these ideas? Why do you think they have represented them in this way?
  • Why has the artist used a particular style to represent their ideas in their artworks? How has this had an impact on the audience and their engagement and interpretation of the artwork?
  • Where and how has the artist chosen to present their work? What impact does this have on the audience and their engagement and interpretation of the artwork?
• Following a class discussion, students can write down three more things they want to know about the topic. They can then use these points as starting points for their inquiry.
• Students can research the practice and artworks of an artist. They can create a word bank that reflects their understanding of what they have researched. They can highlight words that reflect their understanding of the Creative Practice and the Interpretive Lenses. They can then use these words to write a response to a question developed by the class or by the teacher. An example of a question is: ‘How does the artist challenge the way ideas about sustainability are represented in artworks? How are these ideas interpreted by audiences?’
• Students consider how artists have represented the changes in the world and society over time. As a response, students create an artwork.
• Using an artwork as a starting point, students create a citation and artist’s statement about the artwork. They compare their statements to other opinions and points of view about the artwork.
• The Interpretive Lenses can be used to pose questions about artworks that the students research. The questions can be linked to an investigation of the practice of an artist.
• Students use ‘what if’ questions as a starting point for a response to an artist’s practice and artworks. For example, students research the artworks of Australian artist Ben Quilty including an investigation of the materials, techniques and processes he uses in his work. They pose questions such as ‘What would Ben Quilty’s work look like 30 years from now?’
• Students could consider contemporary techniques such as appropriation, juxtaposition and reinterpretation as art practice. They could use a combination of these techniques in their own art making.

The Body of Work is a term with which students must become familiar. A definition is provided on page 17 of the study design. The Body of Work encompasses the student’s use of the four components of the Creative Practice. The Creative Practice and the Interpretive Lenses will scaffold the development of the Body of Work. The Body of Work can include samples, investigations, reflections, unfinished works and finished works. The visual diary can provide the support for the Body of Work and documents the student’s artistic practice, reflections and evaluations.

In Unit 1 the Body of Work is experimental: there are no finished works. Teachers should read through the requirements for the assessment tasks for Unit 1 Outcomes 2 and 3 to provide the parameters for the Body of Work. Unit 2 flows on from Unit 1 in developing a Body of Work. For the assessment of Unit 2 Outcomes 2 and 3, teachers should determine how the collaborative practice will be demonstrated in the Body of Work and what constitutes a finished artwork. The inquiry and experiential learning questions and activities can help scaffold teaching and learning along with the understanding of Creative Practice and the Interpretive Lenses.

As Unit 3 and 4 Areas of Study 1 and 2 constitute the exploration, development and refinement of the Body of Work, it is important that the learning approaches are clearly structured and scaffolded for the student. The students can begin the Body of Work in Unit 3 Area of Study 1 by clearly defining their inquiry using discussion and investigation of an artists practice and artwork to inform their investigation. Specific goals should be set throughout Units 3 and 4 to allow students to reflect on and evaluate their practice. The critique forms part of the exploration, development and refinement of the Body of Work.

Presentation of the Body of Work

As Creative Practice considers engagement with an audience as a critical part of the process, presentation of the Body of Work occurs in Unit 2 Area of Study 3, Unit 3 Area of Study 1 and Unit 4 Area of Study 1. Teachers must make sure that students are supported to consider the presentation of their Body of Work with sufficient time and resources. Further information on the presentation of the Body of Work in a critique is provided in the Teaching and learning activities for the above units and in the section on the critique.

Students can develop questions based on the components of the Creative Practice and the questions used in the Interpretive Lenses to structure the critique and presentation of their Body of Work.

The following resources will assist teachers to discuss the Body of Work with students.

• Top Arts Hub – National Gallery of Victoria
  Students can view students discussing their ideas and Body of Work.
• Websites providing information on the characteristics of a Body of Work.
• The following websites include advice for teachers, learning activities and student interviews relating to a Body of Work.
  NSW Visual Arts
  NSW Successful bodies of work

The practice of collaboration will be new to some students and activities need to be scaffolded to support meaningful outcomes. Collaboration is broad and should not be seen as simply working with another student to make a combined artwork. Teachers are advised to familiarise themselves with this aspect of the VCE Art Creative Practice Study Design to ensure they embrace the range of possibilities offered through collaboration. Further information about teaching and learning activities is covered in the teaching and learning activities for Unit 2 Areas of Study 2 and 3. Students can also study the collaborative practice of an artist from the list of artists for study in Unit 2 Area of Study 1. This research, in the Creative Practice, can inform the students’ own art making or provide the provocation for personal responses using collaborative practices. Approaches to teaching collaborative practice could include:

• Investigating the contexts for the production of collaborative artworks. Where are collaborative artworks found? How are they presented?
• Investigating the purposes of collaborative artworks and practices. Why do artists produce collaborative work? How does collaboration build on their practice? What impact does a collaborative work have over an artwork by a single artist?
• Investigating the relationship of the audience to the artwork. Is the audience involved in the collaborative work or are they are objective viewers? What impact does a collaborative work have on an audience?
• Cultural and historical influences on collaborative artworks. What are the influences on collaborative practices from different periods of time and cultures? What are the different approaches for creating collaborative works that reflect cultural and historical contexts?
• Investigating the four components of the Creative Practice through collaboration. How do artists research and explore ideas in collaborative practice? How do artists explore and experiment with ideas, materials, techniques, processes and visual language in collaborative practice? How do artists analyse, evaluate and reflect on their collaborative practice? How do artists realise and refine artworks in collaborative practice? How do they present and critique their artworks in collaborative practice?

Creative and Critical thinking in collaboration

Creative and critical thinking can be used in collaborative exchanges, particularly through questioning and reasoning. Collaborative exchanges are reasoned exchanges of opinions and points of view. Collaborative exchanges encourage higher order interpretation of the meanings and messages of artworks and enable students to formulate evaluations and judgments on the practices of artists, including their own artistic practice. Collaborative exchanges support students to:

• critically analyse and discuss the points of view of others about artistic practices and artworks
• discuss, reflect and critically review understandings about artists, practices, artworks and the relationships between artworks and audiences
• consolidate new knowledge through application, reflection, elaboration, and individual and collective reasoning
• develop new points of view when creating artworks that represent new ideas
• create new theoretical and practical understandings of artists, artistic practice and artworks.

Using Creative and Critical thinking students can create works based on a theme. They explore a topic together and extend and prioritise the direction of their work.

Collaboration case studies

Collaboration – Brisbane Art Guide (bneart.com)
Jordan Azcune & Kirralee Robinson: Material Directives – Brisbane Art Guide (bneart.com)
A Carved Landscape: Stories of Connection & Culture – Brisbane Art Guide (bneart.com)
Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan: See/Through – Brisbane Art Guide (bneart.com)
Arts and Culture 4 Development: Home – (ac4dafrica.org)
collaboration (artnews.com) Feminist Collaboration in the Art Academy: viewcontent.cgi (vcu.edu)
Artists in the Black Collaboration Toolkit - resources for use in Indigenous art projects - Arts Law Centre of Australia
Making Art with Communities: A Work Guide Community_Partnerships_Workguide_lores_2014edit.pdf (creative.vic.gov.au)
NAVA: Communities of Practice Collaborative Mentorship Initiative Collaborative Mentorship Initiative: NAVA (visualarts.net.au)

As students engage in Making and Responding, they employ different lenses to understand and appreciate how artists incorporate a range of influences and layers of meaning into their practice, and the relationship the artist and artwork has with an audience, the world and society in general. Throughout the course of the study, students develop their understanding of each of the three lenses, both individually and in combination, and how they provide alternative ways of analysing, interpreting and evaluating their own artworks and the artworks of others.

Structural Lens

Students consider the following questions when applying the Structural Lens:

• How has the artist applied the art elements of colour, line, shape, form, texture, tone, light, sound and time, and the art principles of emphasis (focal point), movement, rhythm, unity, variety, repetition (including pattern), balance, contrast, proportion, space and scale? What effect has the use of art elements and principles had on the artwork?
• How do the art elements and art principles contribute to the meanings and messages of the artwork for different audiences in different contexts?
• What materials, techniques and processes have been used? How is the interpretation of the artwork shaped by the materials and the techniques or processes used by the artist? Is the interpretation informed by the inherent qualities of the materials or by their selection and application by the artist?
• Are 21st-century media and technologies or approaches to making and presenting works of art evident in the artwork? How is the interpretation of the artwork shaped by the artist’s use of these?
• What is the distinctive style of the artwork and how does it contribute to the meaning of the artwork? How does the artwork relate to other artworks in a similar style or from the same philosophical, ideological, social, historical or cultural context?
• What physical aspects of the artwork, such as the context of where the artwork is presented, its presentation with other artworks and characteristics such as framing, display on plinths or printing of artworks, contain or suggest symbolic meaning?
• How might the artwork be interpreted in different contexts by different audiences?
• Does the placement or location of the artwork in a setting other than the intended setting impact on its aesthetic, cultural or economic value? Does the placement or location of the artwork impact on the communication of meaning? How does the context of where the artwork is presented communicate the beliefs of the artist, audience, culture, time or place in which was made and viewed?

Personal Lens

Students consider the following questions when applying the Personal Lens:

• What relationship does the artwork have to the artist’s life and experiences? What visual evidence in the artwork supports this reading?
• Has the artist used a specific practice in creating the artwork that may reflect their personal ideas, beliefs, values and experiences?
• What is the artist’s world view? How might the artwork be linked to people, places and experiences of personal significance to the artist, such as the artist’s personal feelings, thinking, aspirations, beliefs, desires or preoccupations; or to memories, dreams or a personal world of fantasy? How are these represented in artworks?
• What ethical ideas and issues are important to the artist? How have they considered or referenced these in the artwork? How are these ideas and issues represented?
• What 21st-century art ideas and issues are important to the artist? How have they considered or referenced these in the artwork? How are these ideas and issues represented?
• Has the artist collaborated with others in the creation or presentation of the artwork? Does this affect your interpretation of the artwork?
• What personal symbols or metaphors are explored or represented in the artwork that contribute to the meanings and messages?
• How does the life experience and background of the audience affect the interpretation of the artwork?
• What current art ideas and issues important to you as the audience are evident in the artwork? How do these influence your interpretation of the meaning and messages of the artwork?
• Is collaboration or participation of the audience encouraged and if so, how does this affect their interpretation of the artwork?

Cultural Lens

Students consider the following questions when applying the Cultural Lens:

• How do the social, historical, political, philosophical, cultural, economic, artistic and / or religious contexts of the artwork contribute to the meaning and messages of it?
• How have historical or contemporary events shaped the intention of the artist or our understanding of the meaning and messages of the artwork?
• How are social values, beliefs and attitudes existing at the time the artwork was produced reflected in the work? How do these values, beliefs and attitudes compare to the values of today?
• How does the cultural background of the audience influence the interpretation of an artwork?
• How does the context of where the artwork was made and exhibited affect the interpretation of it?
• What cultural symbols or metaphors explored or utilised in the artwork contribute to the meanings and messages?
• How was the artwork reviewed or critiqued during the time in which it was made or since the work was made? Was the work considered challenging or innovative?
• Is the artwork presented in a different location to where the artist intended the artwork to be exhibited and, if so, how does this influence the interpretation of the artwork for the audience?

Applying the Interpretive Lenses

When selecting artworks for study it is recognised that the Interpretive Lenses can be applied to all artworks in varying degrees. In the study of specific artworks, some aspects of the Interpretive Lenses may overlap with others. In some cases, some aspects of the Interpretive Lenses may not be applicable to the artwork and the practice of the artist under study.

Through an investigation of the Interpretive Lenses, students develop an appreciation of a range of practices of artists and the place of artworks within cultural, contemporary and historical contexts. Visits to public artworks, art galleries and museums, either online or onsite, to see and experience artworks in context, are recommended to support students’ experience of artworks and the application of Interpretive Lenses.

The critique is integral to the inquiry learning that underpins the Creative Practice. This is an opportunity for the student to reflect upon and communicate to others their Creative Practice through a reciprocal conversation or discussion about their Body of Work and their practice. The critique can be delivered using different methods at different stages of the Creative Practice when students are actively engaged in exploring, experimenting, developing, refining, resolving or presenting artworks. The critique focuses on aspects of students’ Creative Practice at the point where it takes place. The critique allows students to reflect upon and evaluate the evolution of their Body of Work, collect and respond to feedback from both the teacher and other students. In addition, the critique provides students with an opportunity to use art terminology and apply the Interpretive Lenses to the discussion of their Creative Practice.

A critique should be carried out in relation to the artist’s Body of Work. The work in the critique should be compared to other works in the student’s practice and it should set the standard that the student can build their practice upon. Critiques are part of the communal process of art making and students should collaborate in critiques to improve their own practice. Students gain ideas and benefit from the critiques of other class members. Often the art making is paused for a critique, so that students and teachers can reflect on the work and the Creative Practice. Students focus on both their own work and the work of others in their group. This allows students to observe the ways in which others in their class approach their art practice and to consider possibilities outside their usual habits.

The critique also helps students to understand the world of art if their artwork is explained in relation to other artworks from different periods of time and cultures, as well as the artworks of their peers. The critique can model for a student the process of thinking about a work rather than a single interpretation of it. Students think about the meanings and messages communicated by artworks and consider what is successful, what can be improved, and how feedback can be put into practice. The discussion that takes place during the critique aims to guide and support the students to move forward, and aims to help them to think about new possibilities. It guides students in building on the learning that has taken place to this point.

There are four ingredients to a critique:

• Focus on artworks – artworks made by the student and artworks by others.
• Reflective – students think about the meaning and expression of artworks. What is successful, what is not and why?
• Verbal – students put their reflections into words as they are asked to describe their working processes and artworks. They explain and evaluate their artworks.
• Forward-looking – critiques can guide students to future work and help them to envisage new possibilities.

Role of the critique

A key aim of the critique is to make explicit and evaluate the decisions that went into making an artwork or are being made during the process. The critique allows both the student and teacher to understand the processes in making artworks. The critique enables the student and teacher to identify and discuss the effects of decisions, evaluate the choice of materials and their application of techniques and processes.

• Critiques help students to connect their working processes to the final product – they make explicit and analyse decisions that go into making a final artwork. Students consider how the artwork was made, why it was made that way and what it could look like if it was made differently.
• Students reflect on the decisions made behind the work. They learn to observe, interpret, explain and evaluate artworks. They understand how different parts of a work, both tangible and intangible, contribute to the effect of the work.
• Students understand how and why an artwork can communicate meaning and messages. They learn how to verbalise what they see and how to evaluate the effectiveness of artworks. They point out the details or features they notice; they describe what the work reminds them of or the feelings it evokes or what a work would look like if a part was changed. What part of the work is the most extraneous? What could be taken away while the central idea of the work remains the same?
• The teaching leading up to the critique should also focus on these assessment criteria concepts so that students are familiar with them. The teacher should point them out so that students can develop the knowledge and skills associated with those concepts.
• The critique guides future work in an implicit or explicit way. From a critique students can identify the characteristics of their work and build upon their strengths. Teachers can also learn about the way students work by listening to what they have to say.
• In the discussion, the student should reflect on how the artwork could have been made differently, and on the outcome of the artwork if it had been made using different materials, techniques and processes.

Before the critique

• Consider the personal involvement the student has in the work. Is there a narrative intent? Is the work representational? Do the formal elements come together to inform the narrative? What were the ideas that led the student to make the work?
• The critique should contain a statement of intent, history of process, and an interview or other format related to the work. The student should be able to articulate what they did in relation to their intention and state what skills they employed. The student should also have an ideological perspective or view with their work. The class can think about the work in relation to the artist’s intent.

During the critique

• Students should introduce the work and discuss what was critical in the making of it that contributes to the meaning of the work. They should be able to differentiate between the representation of ideas and communication of meaning in the work.
• Student should focus on asking questions of the audience, not just on explanations.
• The group can write some notes about the work before the verbal exchange occurs. Participants could be provided with questions to ask or to answer. These could be collated and given to the student.

Questions that could be asked during the critique:

• I have used x materials but thought of using y materials. What do you think? What would make the work interesting?
• Does the location of the work suit it?
• My work is related to x artist, I like their work because…Do you think I have reflected this in my work?
• What is your immediate response to the work? What do you notice first? What stands out? How does it affect you?
• Describe the artwork to someone who cannot see it.
• Does the work tell a story? What is it? Name the work with one word followed by a phrase.
• Write a letter about the artwork, including a description of the techniques, story and emotions expressed. The letter could be written to someone who has to make the work, using a series of steps.
• Does the work show progress? What are the essential elements of the art form? Has the student pushed the art form?
• Where the work is shown is central to its reading. Consider the size and shape of the artwork. How is it presented on the wall? What is its relationship to other artworks? What is the relationship to the context where the work is presented? Does the narrative create or refute the identify, history and cultural references in its parts?
• What techniques have been used? How have the materials been applied to the surface of the work? How does the use of techniques contribute to the use of art elements and principles? critiques can focus on the use of techniques. Therefore, students can focus on their use of materials and processes that are removed from ideas. However, the technique can also create the meaning for the work or how much it is valued by viewers or audiences.

Feedback from the critique

Student should take advice from the critique in an active way, not a reactive way. Through active critique, students can justify the alternatives available to them.

Feedback from the critique must be supported with evidence. Students can take their own notes or receive notes from the teacher or their peers. Then they can reflect on the feedback to confirm or reject what they might already know. Students can also identify contradictory comments.

• Do they share a similar idea?
• Can you articulate what is being questioned? Identify commonalities?
• What were the suggestions that were made? Are they achievable?
• If you cannot solve the problem what is the direction you could consider?
• How can you contextualise the work given the feedback?
• What would happen if the work was made differently?

Ask the student how they will finish the work and what are the next steps they will take.

Compare the differences between this work and other works the student has made, particularly at different times in the year.

Useful links for analysing or critiquing artworks

How to analyze an artwork: a step-by-step guide for students (studentartguide.com)
Stanford University: Teaching Through critique: An Extra-Disciplinary Approach | Tomorrow's Professor Postings (stanford.edu)
Kennedy Center: Art critiques Made Easy (kennedy-center.org)
Kennedy Center: Teaching Students to critique (kennedy-center.org)
How to critique Art: How to critique Art · Art Prof
Art critique examples: BFA Art School Portfolio critique · Art Prof, BFA Art School Portfolio critique · Art Prof, BFA Art School Portfolio critique · Art Prof

Teachers are encouraged to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives in the design and delivery of teaching and learning programs related to VCE Art Creative Practice. The Study specifications in the study design provide information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, cultures and histories (on page 13). Area of Study 1 in both Units 1 and 2 includes content related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and artworks.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE
On-demand video recordings, presented with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI) and the Department of Education (DE) Koorie Outcomes Division, for VCE teachers and leaders as part of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE webinar program held in 2023.

VAEAI – Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. is the peak Koorie community organisation for education and training in Victoria. VAEAI has produced the Protocols for Koorie Education in Victorian schools to support teachers and students when learning about local, regional, state, national and international Indigenous perspectives. Further resources are published by the Victorian Department of Education and Training and VAEAI also provides Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST) (professional learning and resources for teachers to undertake when considering how they may best include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in teaching the Arts). The Koorie Heritage Trust Victoria also offers training in Cultural Education for schools and organisations.

Lisa Daly from Cultural Minds also provides advice for teachers when considering how to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in VCE Art Creative Practice, in particular noting that:

‘…It is important to understand there is a distinct difference between teaching Aboriginal culture and teaching about Aboriginal culture. It is not appropriate for a non-Aboriginal person to teach Aboriginal culture, that is the traditional or sacred knowledge and systems belonging to Aboriginal people. For these kinds of teaching and learning experiences it is essential to consult and collaborate with members of your local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community. It is appropriate, however, for a non-Aboriginal person to teach about Indigenous Australia, its history and its people in much the same way as a teacher of non-German heritage might teach about Germany, its history and its people … As teachers, the onus is on us to learn about Indigenous Australia, in just the same way we inform ourselves about any other subject we teach…’

A range of suggested activities that incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives have also been provided for Units 1–4 in the Teaching and learning activities.

Other specific resources associated with the Arts that provide additional information and resources on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, histories and cultures can be found through the following links:

Information and protocols

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority: Koorie Cross-Curricular Protocols for Victorian Government Schools
Arts Council Australia: Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre: Museums Victoria
Culture Victoria  Creative Victoria: First Peoples Action Plan for the Creative Industries
Drama Victoria: Advice for Victorian teachers  
Australian Broadcasting association: Cultural considerations for delivering ‘back to nature resources’ 
VAEAI ‘But can they paint dots?’
Art Gallery of South Australia: Incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art into your classroom in a culturally appropriate way

Teaching resources

Monash University Museum of Art
National Gallery of Victoria 
National Gallery of Australia   
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards 
Queensland Art Gallery and Museum of Modern Art (QAGOMA)

In VCE Art Creative Practice, students investigate issues that arise from the investigation of artworks and the meanings and messages communicated by them. An issue can be considered to be an important topic or problem for debate or discussion that impacts on the experiences and background of people. Issues can be related to the economic, philosophical, social or cultural context of artworks. Issues can arise through the presentation of artworks, their context, practices of artists and their use of materials, techniques and processes. They can arise from the viewing, interpretation and understanding of artworks and the practices of artists by audiences.