Art & Design

Staff

Head of Department:
Mrs J Blair

Departmental Staff:
Mrs L Denvir-Watson

Technician:
Mrs D Prodohl

Overview

The Art Department in Grosvenor is a busy and vibrant place to work and learn. We have two spacious classrooms, a dedicated room for Senior School pupils, a spacious foyer for exhibitions of work and several store rooms. We see ourselves as a dynamic and progressive department with a strong shared ethos. We work as a team, whilst using the expertise of individuals to provide flexibility and a wider range of skills. We want to develop a creative and independent learning environment.

The Art Department is dedicated to delivering a broad range of study that spans many creative disciplines for all age groups. We offer a wide range of activities including ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, digital art as well as the more traditional drawing and painting. Students are encouraged to develop their own interests and themes. As students specialise in art, they learn to analyse, critique, defend, ask ‘what-if’ questions and explore alternative points of view, enabling them to be effective, able and creative visual communicators.

Key Stage 3

Students are encouraged to work both collaboratively and individually through a challenging range of two and three-dimensional media and to review and refine work at each stage of the creative process through peer critiques. Students in each year group are taught to record their responses through a range of different processes from photography to drawing. Particular emphasis is put on observational drawing skills, which form an integral part of each project. All students learn to deconstruct and analyse other artists, craftspeople, cultures and historical periods. In turn they learn to apply this knowledge to their own work, making connections between other contexts and their personal responses to become both critics and practitioners.

Key Stage 4

Pupils follow the CCEA GCSE Art and Design specification.

GCSE Art appeals to students who are keen to hone both their practical and conceptual skills to a high level in order to produce independent and innovative work. The department follows the CCEA specification which comprises two units: the first is more teacher-directed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the GCSE assessment objectives. Students will engage with a wide variety of techniques and approaches, and need to be open-minded and ready to challenge their existing preconceptions of art, whilst refining their core skills. The second unit requires investigation and research into a given title set by the examination board. Individual choice of media and personal responses to each topic are required in connection with detailed deconstruction of artists and art movements. Students are encouraged to research contemporary artists and practice from a wide variety of multicultural sources.

Key Stage 5

Pupils follow the CCEA AS and A2 specifications. 

At A level, students are encouraged to take risks and develop as artists. They are given the opportunity to specialise in a range of media and processes that are relevant to their interests whether they be architecture, fashion, sculpture, digital art or installation. CCEA places theory alongside the practical elements of the course at A2, enabling students to further refine their written analysis and essay writing skills in preparation for higher education. We hope that by the end of this course, students will have gained a rich understanding of visual language and a passion for Art that goes beyond their school career.

End of Year Exhibition

Every year Years 12, 13 and 14 display their work in a final exhibition, these take place in the Art Department and are a culmination and celebration of all the hard work the students have put in over the year. They show the breadth and diversity of the work, adding an element of professionalism to the course. They are very well attended, promoted by the pupils and attended by family, friends and teachers.

​Curriculum Activities and Trips

The department is committed to the substantial use of external learning resources; visits to galleries and museums, art study trips, workshops and artists’ workshops. Our aim is to extend our students’ experience and opportunities.

We link with the educational programmes at many of the local Art galleries and art colleges including; the University of Ulster Degree Shows, the RUA exhibition in the Ulster Museum and the True Colours Exhibition organised by CCEA.

Students at KS4 and KS5 visit key galleries in Dublin including; the National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Dublin City Gallery.

In the past we have visited Paris and Barcelona and are planning a further visit to Paris next year. We run a thriving Culture Club which makes extra-curricular visits to events of interests including; the Belfast Fashion Week Fashion Show and the Late Night Art Bus Tours.