Visual Arts and Multimedia

Visual Arts

A multi-faceted curriculum in Secondary I and II helps students acquire an artistic skills set which makes them comfortable in every medium of the visual arts. The Visual Arts Department’s philosophy is to introduce students in Grades 7 and 8 to as many different forms of art media as possible regardless of their experience or previous exposure to art.  Keeping the curriculum varied enables each student to find a medium in which he or she can excel, while broadening his or her knowledge of, and appreciation for, the visual arts.

In completing four to six projects per semester, art students accumulate significant experience in all visual media including watercolour painting, printmaking, stencil construction, oil pastels, acrylics on canvas, photography, stop-motion animation and a variety of different sculptural materials.  Students share their completed projects at our annual year-end High School vernissage in May, open to invited guests.

Multimedia

In the final year of High School, the Grade 11 class dives into the vast umbrella of Multimedia. In this survey course of digital media the student develops a portfolio of digital photography, poster creation, short film and documentary film. In the first chapter of the course the student learns about the subtle intricacies of digital photography, composition of subject matter, light and show, color contrast, and how to shoot an affective self-portrait.

In the second and third semesters students participate in group work to produce a documentary film presented in a variety of styles based on their own research. During the third semester students watch Hollywood style film with an objective eye, observing camera angles, lighting, setting, costume and sound in preparation for producing their own short films.