Visual Arts / Year 5 and 6 / Exploring and responding

Curriculum content descriptions

explore ways that visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials are combined to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in visual arts across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9AVA6E01)

Elaborations
  • investigating how a diverse range of Australian artists have expressed historical, social and environmental concerns over time; for example, artists who have migrated to Australia at different times who represent their experiences through their artworks and visual arts practice, using Viewpoints to develop questions such as, “What does this artwork tell us about the impact of this person/culture on society?”, “What can I learn about this person’s experiences, or about what it means to be Australian?”
  • identifying ways that artworks by different artists can present multiple perspectives of the same event, discussing how these works can assist the development of social awareness; for example, accessing and comparing responses to artworks that depict the colonisation of Australia by the British from the perspective of a First Nations Australian person, a person with links to the British colonists, or a person with no cultural links to either of these groups
  • exploring a range of Australian and international artworks, such as artworks from countries or regions in Asia, that communicate a topic or issue the class is learning about in another subject, and individually expressing their own views of the issue in a series of sequential visual panels without any text
  • using Viewpoints to develop questions to examine, compare and contrast what they notice in an artwork; for example, as a class, critically navigating multiple perspectives of the same artwork and questioning why they see these works so differently
  • examining audio descriptions as an accessible way for people with impaired vision to enjoy visual arts; for example, listening to a series of descriptions of artworks by Australian artists in Australian institutions, selecting an artwork that they are interested in and creating an audio description of their own
General capabilities
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural Understanding
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Regional art,  Composition (Visual arts),  Art materials,  Visual arts,  Artists,  Culture,  Cultural contexts,  Settings (Narratives),  Art movements

Online

Through my own eyes: a self-portrait - teacher resource

This resource for teachers is a visual arts unit that leads to a resolved two-dimensional self-portrait on paper. The unit combines the techniques of drawing and painting and explores the concept of a personal environment. It is in four parts: exploring examples of portraits by artists across history; developing line-drawn ...

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Sidney Nolan: 'Ned Kelly', 1946

This web page focuses on Sidney Nolan's famous Ned Kelly series of paintings held by the National Gallery of Australia including links to a gallery of enlargeable images, a primary education resource and a lesson plan with interactive resource for Years 5 and 6. The webpage also includes a video with audio commentary about ...

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Ian Fairweather: 'Monastery', 1961

This resource includes an enlargeable image of the painting 'Monastery' by Ian Fairweather and catalogue information about the painting. There is also a video with audio commentary and corresponding onscreen text that provides an interpretation of the painting and information about the artist's views. The abstract painting ...

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Sidney Nolan: 'Kiata', c1943

This resource includes an enlargeable image of the painting 'Kiata' by Sidney Nolan and catalogue information about the painting. There is also a video with audio commentary and corresponding onscreen text that provides an interpretation of the painting, and information about the artist's views. The painting represents ...

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Carol Rudyard: 'Northern theme', 1973

This resource includes an enlargeable image of the painting 'Northern theme' by Carol Rudyard and catalogue information about the painting. There is also a video with audio commentary and corresponding onscreen text that provides an interpretation of the painting and information about the artist's views. The painting references ...

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The Mughal Court paintings

This is an enlargeable image of a Mughal Court painting (1560-1858) from a Bhagavata Purana showing a battle between Krishna and the fire-headed demon Mura. The Bhagavata Purana is a collection of Hindu devotional stories in Sanskrit, illustrating the stories of Krishna in human form. Accompanying the image is information ...

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Margaret Preston: 'Flying over the Shoalhaven', 1942

This resource includes an enlargeable image of the painting 'Flying over Shoalhaven River' by Margaret Preston and catalogue information about the painting. There is also a video with audio commentary and corresponding onscreen text that provides an interpretation of the painting and information about the artist's views. ...

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'Garak the Universe - larrakitj', 2005

This is a larrakitj (hollow funeral pole) sculpture created and painted by Yolngu artist Gulumbu Yunupingu. It depicts the universe ('Garak'); not only all the stars that can be seen with the naked eye but everything that exists beyond. The larrakitj is shown here in a colour image that can be enlarged and is accompanied ...

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Australian collection

This database features a selection of Australian artworks from QAGOMA. The searchable database provides artwork images, background information about the artist and the artwork, classroom activities, a glossary of key terms and curriculum alignment information for teachers. Search results can be refined by theme, period, ...

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Indigenous Australian collection

This federated search from the QAGOMA database features a selection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks from the collection. The searchable database provides artwork images, background information about the artist and the artwork, a map of major Indigenous regions in Australia, classroom activities, a glossary ...

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Hans Heysen: 'The saplings', 1904

This resource includes an enlargeable image of the painting 'The saplings' by Hans Heysen and catalogue information about the painting. There is also a video with audio commentary and corresponding onscreen text that provides an interpretation of the painting and information about the artist's views. The painting pays homage ...

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Zhang Xiaogang, 'Bloodline (Two comrades with red baby)', 1995

This is a painting by Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang (b1958) depicting two parents and a child. The painting is shown as an enlargeable image. Text onscreen gives information about the context and intention of the work of art, critical of the one-child policy in China, as well as a comprehensive visual analysis explaining ...

Online

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Schools and Early Learning

The Narragunnawali website is a portal of rich content and professional resources for teachers and students in schools and early learning centres that promotes reconcilation between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The website includes curriculum- aligned resources and professional ...