Overview
The Artist Project (AP) is a core assessment task for HL students in the IB DP Visual Arts course, worth 30% of the final grade. It asks students to independently conceive, develop, and situate a resolved artwork: a piece they create from start to finish, guided by their own context, curiosity, and creative voice.
This is the only required exhibited artwork for HL students. It represents not just a final product, but a fully documented project: from proposal and research, to feedback and refinement, to audience engagement and final reflection.
🔹 At Art-Ed Hub, we support students in treating the AP as an opportunity to step into their identity as artists.
We encourage genuine inquiry, thoughtful connections, and a willingness to test, revise, and communicate meaningfully, not just make something polished.
Understanding the Assessment Objectives
The AP is assessed using five key assessment objectives: Investigate, Situate, Refine, Synthesize, and Curate. These guide not only the final submission but the rhythm and rigour of the creative process itself.
| Assessment Objective | What It Looks Like in Practice |
|---|---|
|
Investigate |
Deep exploration of themes, techniques, and artist influences that shape the work.
Focus: What’s worth exploring, and what do you need to know?
Prompt: “What is the cultural, contextual, or technical relevance of your choices?” |
|
Situate |
The work is clearly embedded in a chosen context and purposefully engages a real or potential audience.
Focus: Where is your work positioned: socially, physically, and conceptually?
Prompt: “How does your work speak to the world around it?” |
|
Refine |
Thoughtful revision and response to dialogue, critique, or self-evaluation.
Focus: How did the work evolve through intentional decisions?
Prompt: “What changed, and why?” |
|
Synthesize |
The final artwork demonstrates a meaningful integration of form, concept, and intention.
Focus: Is your idea fully realised—and does the work communicate clearly?
Prompt: “How do your choices come together to create meaning?” |
|
Curate |
Effective organization and presentation of the resolved artwork and all supporting evidence, including the short video.
Focus: How do you guide the viewer through your process, outcomes, and context?
Prompt: “What does your documentation say about you as an artist?” |
What’s Included in This Sample
This AP sample includes:
- A complete Artist Project submission, from proposal to evaluation
- Annotated teacher commentary for each assessment objective
- A student-friendly assessment sheet to support understanding and planning
- An overview of the assessment criteria to support classroom dialogue and assessment
The Artist Project is a unique opportunity for HL students to work independently, respond to the world around them, and realize a work that is both deeply personal and critically informed. When done well, it becomes more than a final task and can open up new possibilities within the students’ art practice.
Sample
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Assessment
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More IB Samples
AIP (Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio)
CS (Connections Study)
RA (Resolved Artworks)
