Years 7 to 9 Subjects – Visual Arts

Through Visual Arts, students make and respond using visual arts knowledge, understanding and skills to represent meaning associated with personal and global views, and intrinsic and extrinsic worlds.

Visual Arts engages students in a journey of discovery, experimentation, and problem-solving that is relevant to visual perception and visual language. Students undertake this journey by using visual techniques, technologies, practices and processes. Learning in the Visual Arts, students become increasingly confident and proficient in achieving their personal visual aesthetic, and appreciate and value that of others.

Visual Arts in the Australian Curriculum provides Year 7 to 9 students with opportunities to explore and express conceptual and perceptual ideas through design and inquiry, develop knowledge and skills using visual conventions, materials and processes, and build critical and creative thinking. It also fosters respect for the diverse roles and traditions of artists and designers, encourages confidence, curiosity and imagination, and supports personal expression through visual communication. (Australian Curriculum, 2025).

For each unit of work, students will complete: a Folio (documentation of ideas, artwork analysis and practical techniques) and a Practical (final resolved artwork).

Year 7

Year 7 Art is a term-long program. Students will learn the fundamentals of visual storytelling, experimental drawing, composition, and artwork analysis. Assessments will include a stop-motion animation and a watercolour urban landscape, with weekly tasks such as line drawing, Aboriginal art analysis, and curating an imagined exhibition.

Units may include a combination of the following:

Stop Motion Animation
(Multimedia Collage)

Explore the Art Elements of movement, space, shape and colour through a short animation inspired by the theme ‘Journey’. Learn and apply core principles of visual storytelling, composition and sequence in a personal stop-motion animation.

Aboriginal Art - Curate and Exhibit
(Theory and Analysis)

Explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks from Our Mob: God’s Story and curate an imagined exhibition. Analyse the use of symbolism, colour, pattern, space and emphasis to communicate spiritual meaning and cultural identity.

Experimental Drawing
(Drawing)

Explore the Art Elements of line, shape and pattern through three drawing activities: continuous line, contour line and mirrored line. Experiment with drawing media and focus on process over performance.

Urban Landscape Sketching
(Drawing and Painting)

Explore line, rhythm, space and colour through urban landscape sketches inspired by Neil Whitehead. Develop single-line drawings and complete a final composition using watercolour, supported by a 250-word Practitioner’s Statement.

Year 8

Year 8 Art is a semester-long program. Students will learn the fundamentals of colour mixing, mixed media sculpture, observational drawing, and artwork evaluation with analysis. Assessments will include a folio and practical grade for the Colour Theory Painting and Mixed Media Steampunk Sculpture, as well as a grade for Artwork Analysis.

Units may include a combination of the following:

Super Mario Composition
(Painting)

Demonstrate an understanding of colour theory, tone and value through drawing and painting.

Steampunk Animalia
(Sculpture)

Analysing steampunk artists and drawing techniques. Demonstrate understanding of texture, shape and form through sculpture using recycled materials and spray paint.

Art Analysis
(Theory)

Using arts vocabulary to describe and explain emotions in colour and colour schemes.

Tone and Portraiture
(Drawing)

Develop technical skills in graphite drawing through a series of tonal exercises, line, texture and value.

Year 9

At Year 9, is a semester-long program. Students will learn the fundamentals of observational drawing techniques, digital design principles, and artwork evaluation with analysis. Assessments will include a folio and practical grade for the Corel Draw Hero Design and Renaissance Revived Artwork, as well as a grade for Artwork Analysis.

Units may include a combination of the following:

Renaissance Revived

(Collage and mixed Media)

Create a mixed media artwork using collage, drawing and spray painting, inspired by Renaissance Art and the contemporary work of Rob Draper. Explore texture, contrast, composition and appropriation while responding to AI-generated portraits from Adobe Firefly.

Portrait Analysis

(Theory)

Demonstrate understanding of art elements and principles through the analysis of portraits created by famous artists throughout history.

Vector Magnet Characters

(Graphic Illustration Design)

Develop a unique character using digital illustration techniques to create an A3 magnet sheet. Explore pattern, typography, shape, colour and unity.

Year 10 Visual Arts - Art

Year 10 Visual Arts - Design