At a glance
A practical course where students make and present artworks, and learn how artists communicate ideas and meaning. Students explore a range of art materials, techniques and styles, and develop confidence as both artists and audiences.
At Gungahlin College, Visual Arts is offered through two streams:
- Visual Arts Stream: Painting, Drawing and Printmaking, with opportunities to exhibit work in the Stage Gallery and the wider community.
- Ceramics Stream: Hands-on clay work (wheel throwing, hand-building and glazing), with a focus on creative practice and studio skills.
This course is a good choice for students who:
- enjoy making art and experimenting with materials and techniques
- like expressing ideas and feelings through visual forms
- want to build skills in creating and talking about artworks
About this course
Visual Arts helps students develop their skills and confidence through creating and responding to artworks from different times, places and cultures. Students learn how artists use materials, techniques and visual choices to communicate meaning, and they develop their own artistic style through practice and feedback. Assessment usually includes a portfolio or body of work, supported by planning and reflection (for example a visual process diary) and short responding tasks.
Pathways
This course can support pathways into areas such as:
- visual arts and creative practice
- design and creative industries
- community arts and creative projects
Some units you may study
Students complete 2 units for a Minor or 4 units for a Major.
Creativity in Visual Arts
This unit is about developing ideas through the creative process and building technical skills to express them.
Students will:
- experiment with creative processes and different art approaches
- create artworks that express ideas about self, others and the world
Communicating Meaning in Visual Arts
This unit is about how artworks communicate meaning and how audiences interpret visual messages.
Students will:
- explore how artists use visual choices (like colour, composition and symbols) to communicate ideas
- create artworks that communicate a clear idea or message for an audience
Visual Arts in Context
This unit is about how time, place and culture shape art, artists and audiences.
Students will:
- explore artists and artworks from different contexts and what influenced them
- create artworks that show understanding of context and respectful representation
Narratives in Visual Arts
This unit is about the artist as a storyteller and how artworks can build narratives and perspectives.
Students will:
- explore how stories and viewpoints are shown through representational and non-representational artworks
- create artworks that communicate a narrative, idea or response to a narrative
Arts at Gungahlin College
Arts programs include Dance, Drama, Media, Music, Photography, Visual Arts, as well as Industry skills programs Stage Performance and Live Production and Services. Arts studios and classrooms are fully equipped with high-quality technology and resources, including a fully operational theatre.