Objective A: Knowing and understanding

Through the study of theorists and practitioners of the arts, students discover the aesthetics of art forms and are able to analyse and communicate in specialized language. Using explicit and tacit knowledge alongside an understanding of the role of the arts in a global context, students inform their work and artistic perspectives.

Objective B: Developing skills

The acquisition and development of skills provide the opportunity for active participation in the art form and in the process of creating art. Skill application allows students to develop their artistic ideas to a point of realization. The point of realization could take many forms. However, it is recognized as the moment when the student makes a final commitment to his or her artwork by presenting it to an audience. Skills are evident in both process and product.

Objective C: Thinking creatively

The arts motivate students to develop curiosity and purposefully explore and challenge boundaries. Thinking creatively encourages students to explore the unfamiliar and experiment in innovative ways to develop their artistic intentions, their processes and their work. Thinking creatively enables students to discover their personal signature and realize their artistic identity.

Objective D: Responding

Students should have the opportunity to respond to their world, to their own art and to the art of others. A response can come in many forms; creating art as a response encourages students to make connections and transfer their learning to new settings. Through reflecting on their artistic intention and the impact of their work on an audience and on themselves, students become more aware of their own artistic development and the role that arts play in their lives and in the world. Students learn that the arts may initiate change as well as being a response to change.