For students taking Visual arts in the IB programme, the Diploma Programme (DP) Art Exhibition is the final pinnacle of their process. Students are tasked with creating an original art piece that tells a story of their choosing, and this year’s exhibition comes with a special twist—an accompanying musical score.
A Two-Year Process
As a two-year programme across Grade 11 and 12, the DP Art course gives students the opportunity to utilize the skills they’ve learned through the IB continuum in a project of their own design.
For Grade 12 student Cecie Kot, who started at SJS in Grade 7, there was a clear difference between the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the DP. “There’s a lot more structure to the MYP classes,” she explains. “In Grade 11 we have to think more for ourselves and create what we want.”
While the project is open ended, the students aren’t left without guidance. The DP Art course outlines specific criteria, which focuses mainly on the process and how they communicate their ideas to the audience. What the students make is entirely up to them.
Cecie took inspiration in a personal, empathetic approach. “My exhibition focuses on the layers that we have as human beings. There are so many different parts of each person, the parts we repress, the things we show. I wanted to explore that.”
With two years to create a final piece, much of the first year was about planning, preparation and trialing their ideas. “Grade 11 was a lot of thinking through the story,” Cecie explains. “I was thinking more about the things that are happening around our world, and started connecting it to myself, and to the layers of who we are as people.”
A Crossover of the Arts
The start of Grade 12 was when much of the physical work began. Students could use whichever visual medium they feel is the best fit for communicating their concept. For Cecie, that meant a multimedia approach. Her piece used various materials such as wire, paper mache, aluminum foil and even pieces of a book.
“Personally, I tend to do a lot of 2D work. I love illustrating,” Cecie explains. “But I really wanted to push myself for the exhibition and do something different, try something new.”
This year the DP Art exhibit had an additional, musical component. Since the exhibition would be taking place on the same night as the Spring Concert, Department Head Mr. Deans, made it an opportunity for inspiration. He asked the DP Art students which segment of their projects they would like to feature, and the MYP Music class created an accompanying score to be played at the Spring Concert.
When Cecie first heard the proposal, she was excited. “I really liked the idea of the whole audience of people getting to see both their creation and my creation.” For the musical score, Cecie chose a powerful segment of her project that speaks to the harm of transphobia.
“My piece isn’t about just who I am, it’s about the world as it is now,” Cecie explained. “This component specifically is about the people who aren’t able to live as themselves, or suffer the consequences because of it.” The piece features a wire cage, with 138 butterflies hanging from it, each with the name of a person who has died because of who they are.
When asked what she hopes people take away from her project as a whole, Cecie says, “I want people to remember that the person you see in front of you isn’t always who you think they are. There’s so much more underneath the layers that they show.”
Combining Analytics with Creativity
For students like Cecie, the DP Arts course is not only about expression, but also the practical and analytical skills that can deepen and strengthen their artwork.
“[Through the DP] I’ve come to appreciate the process a lot more. It makes me think more deeply about my concepts and how I can communicate the meaning of my work to the audience,” says Cecie. “It’s taught me to think critically about my work, and I’ve started looking at my own personal work from a different perspective.”
Whether students take music, theatre or fine arts at SJS, the IB programme combines creativity with critical thinking; skills that will serve students in whatever field they pursue after graduation. Cecie plans to continue her artistic journey by majoring in fine arts in university, but the skills grown through the DP will last a lifetime.
