Visual Arts

Visual Arts at UISG

Arts are integral to the learning at Utahloy International School Guangzhou. We offer a wide range of opportunities to ensure that students are stimulated to think and articulate their thoughts in new ways through various media and technologies. Learning about and through arts is fundamental to the development of the whole person, promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and social interactions.

At UISG, “arts” are identified as Visual and Performing Arts. Arts education is incorporated into both the Primary Years Programme and the Middle Years Programme. It is also an integral part of the IBDP Visual Arts program. Arts promote attitudes such as empathy, expression, and appreciation. There is ample opportunity to enhance the observation skills that enable one to identify uniqueness and commonalities that connect us. Our art programs nurture a passion for specific art and inculcate aesthetic sensibility and creativity in students.

Students at UISG are offered a unique curriculum of visual arts. These options motivate students to understand the need to succeed in a competitive industry that involves art building the community. Students showcase their creative skills in different art forms, such as drawing, painting, crafts, printmaking, sculpture, and digital art.

Visual Arts in the PYP

Visual Arts in Primary School

The IB PYP highly regards the arts and promotes creative thinking and innovation. This programme’s format helps students become global thinkers and connect their learning to real-world experiences.

In Primary School, students can work independently or in groups to explore different media, from drawing to charcoal, painting to 3D sculpture, clay to photography, and video.

There are two art studios located in the Primary School. One caters to K-Year 2 students, and the other to Year 3 to Year 6 students. Each studio is designed to enable students to explore a range of materials.

In the PYP at UISG, we also incorporate the TAB (Teaching Artistic Behaviours) learning strategy, where creative thinking and choice become a practical and creative habit of learning and decision-making. Students practice the tools required in thought and actions to become influential artists and prepare them for an independent and creative future.

Visual Arts in MYP

Visual Arts in the MYP

End of Year Art and Design 2023

Week 5 End of Year Art and Design Exhibition

Year 7 - Basic Skills and Understanding

The MYP values the process of creating, performing, and presenting artwork and gives students opportunities to function as artists and to develop as learners. Students learn to use the arts to convey feelings, experiences, and ideas about the world, and in doing so, they acquire and develop techniques and creative skills. They learn the value of reflection and evaluation to develop their ideas, skills, and work.

In UISG, Visual Arts is one of the MYP Arts courses offered. In Years 7 and 8, students will learn it as a semester course in modular with Theatre, while in Years 9 and 10, they can choose it as an elective of the compulsory Arts course for two years. This is preferred as students have sufficient opportunity to experience sustained learning in discrete visual arts or performing arts. This allows students to have the chance to meet the final assessment objectives by the end of the course, particularly if students choose their Arts subject for their MYP ePortfolio subject to complete the MYP certificate requirements.

In Secondary School, classes are designed to develop students to learn about art, through the art, and about the art. Students are encouraged to improve their skills, such as mixed drawing media, painting, various forms of sculpture, printmaking, digital art, collage, and many others.

They will also learn how to better appreciate the artistic process and art history through investigation, analysis, and reflection. Every unit learned will require students to inquire about their creative responses to build upon their conceptual and contextual understanding and application of subject-specific language and ATL skills.

Visual Arts in the DP

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For Comparative Study (20%), students analyze and compare different artworks by different artists. This independent critical and contextual investigation explores artworks, objects, and artefacts from differing cultural contexts. Next, for Process Portfolio (40%), students submit carefully selected materials that evidence their experimentation, exploration, manipulation, and refinement of various visual arts activities during the two-year course. Lastly, for Exhibition (40%), students submit a selection of resolved artworks for their exhibition, which shows evidence of their technical accomplishment during the visual arts course and an understanding of the use of materials, ideas, and practices appropriate to visual communication. They need to show evidence of the decision-making process that underpins selecting this connected and cohesive body of work for an audience through a curatorial rationale.

DP Visual Arts Exhibition 2023

Y 11 DP Visual Arts Exhibition 2023

The IB DP Visual Arts course encourages students to challenge their creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical problem-solving and divergent thinking skills while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. The course is designed for students who want to go on to study visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment through visual arts.

The visual arts syllabus clearly distinguishes between the course at Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL), with additional assessment requirements at HL that allow for breadth and greater depth in teaching and learning. HL students are encouraged to produce a larger body of resolved works and to demonstrate a deeper consideration of how their resolved works communicate with a potential viewer.

There are three assessment components in this course. The IB externally assesses the Comparative Study and Process Portfolio, and the Exhibition is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.

Art Exhibitions at UISG

Art Events

Dot Day

At UISG, we embrace opportunities to collaborate across year levels and participate in international events.

Every year, the Primary Art Department likes to challenge students to consider the marks they can make differently for Dot Day; over the past few years, UISG students have collaborated in various Dot Day events, from individual dot contributions to collaborative sculptures. International Dot Day is a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration, which began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009.

In the lessons leading up to Dot Day, students explore the marks and connections they can make and how artists use different marks to inspire their art style. It is always inspiring to see students connect their dots with a friend and make a physical connection with their artwork, piecing each student and nationality together.

The Secondary School of UISG came alive with vibrant colours and artistic fervour as students, teachers, and staff joined hands to celebrate International Dot Day from September 11th to 15th. The school atrium, transformed into an art haven, showcased our community’s boundless creativity and unity.

This year, again, our Visual Arts teachers (Mr. Kharismana and Mr. Banomali) took this message to heart and organised a memorable event to celebrate International Dot Day 2023 at Utahloy. The preparations for this event were nothing short of meticulous. The group preparing the event consisted of dedicated student volunteers and teachers, who worked to set up the perfect canvas for the artistic endeavours that lay ahead. They carefully selected materials and transformed the atrium into an artist’s paradise. Every moment spent preparing for the event was a step towards fostering unity within our community.

Students of all ages eagerly participated in the painting process, contributing their unique perspectives to the collective masterpiece, whether bold and colourful or subtle and intricate. Each dot painted represented a moment of self-expression, a mark of creativity, and a symbol of unity. Guided by the theme of “making your mark,” participants embraced the opportunity to leave their indelible impression on the canvas. It was a day when we made our mark on the world, one dot at a time.

As we reflect on this incredible event, we are reminded that creativity knows no bounds, serving as a shining example of how creativity and self-expression can flourish within our school community. With this year’s resounding success, we eagerly await next year’s celebration of creativity, unity, and self-expression.

-Pei Ying Cheong, Year 11 student and Dot Day volunteer-

World Art Day

We bring art, music and dance forms together during International World Art Day. World Art Day is a celebration to promote art development, diffusion and enjoyment. Art nurtures creativity, innovation, and cultural diversity for all people across the globe and plays a significant role in sharing knowledge and encouraging curiosity and dialogue.

Around the world, many interpretations of art, dance, and music are inspired by various experiences and history. Students explore how they can express themselves by choosing art materials to communicate their ideas following performances and videos worldwide. Our UISG students use their knowledge of the art elements, art materials, and established artists to inspire their ideas. Art allows students of over 50 nationalities to communicate without language barriers and borders.

Inktober

“As year ten students, we have collaborated and have operated the Inktober activity for a month. It started by promoting the month on the daily bulletin board and promoting it at the atrium during breaks and lunch where it happened. Not many students initially participated in the activity, but they slowly joined one another and drew what was in their minds through the same keyword. An unexpected number of participants joined the activity, and the board meant to put up drawings filled up quickly. Various ideas and imagination were used for each keyword for every person in how they interpret a word. It was an enjoyable activity where UISG staff and students were allowed to express their ideas through drawing.” – Y10 Sophia Kim.

In 2023, the UISG community contributed to this global artistic movement of Inktober successfully throughout October, which just passed. Students and staff participated by creating drawings and illustrations based on the daily given prompts, from Dream (Oct 1), Rise (Oct 13), until Fire (Oct 31). These drawings were posted on panels exhibited in the secondary atrium and online in the UISG Inktober Padlet. Students were encouraged to share their artwork through their social media accounts.

In 2009, US cartoonist and illustrator Jake Parker started the Inktober Challenge to improve his cartoon inking skills by trying to draw every day in October. The discipline and endurance built throughout those times effectively built his artistic talents and habits. According to CNN (2016), as Jake shared his mission online, other artists joined and made it an annual event. But it was only in 2012 that Inktober became a worldwide art celebration as hashtags – labels used on social media websites to join messages on a specific topic – helped people spread the word and encourage others to join.