San Marino Scuola Media Curriculum - Art

The Art and Visual Communication curriculum at San Marino Scuola Media aims to enhance students' creative expression and communication skills, fostering critical interaction with various art forms and visual communication languages. The curriculum emphasizes developing personal aesthetic sensibilities and appreciation for environmental and cultural heritage, particularly within the San Marino context. It focuses on progressively mastering visual communication languages and providing aesthetic, artistic, and cultural education.

Key Learning Areas:

• Creativity and Expression: Students learn to express themselves creatively and independently, applying visual language rules and utilizing various expressive techniques and codes effectively. They design and create different visual texts, incorporating static and dynamic images and multimedia language.
• Techniques: The curriculum encourages exploration of diverse artistic techniques, including graphic, plastic, pictorial, and digital methods. Students experiment with increasingly complex tools and procedures, selecting those best suited to their expressive projects. They also learn to use digital applications for creating texts with visual content.
• Perception and Observation: Students learn to analyze reality as a "text," identifying significant signs and their relationships, drawing upon prior knowledge or acquiring new knowledge through targeted study. They use specific vocabulary to describe observed aspects and share their emotional and aesthetic reactions to artworks, cultural artifacts, and various images.
• Reading Visual Texts: Students learn to read, understand, and interpret the meanings of static and dynamic images, including audiovisual and multimedia forms, demonstrating mastery of visual code elements. They analyze artworks, connecting them to their historical and cultural contexts, interpreting their meaning by reflecting on expressive, symbolic, technical, and aesthetic aspects, and expressing personal judgments. They also recognize the role of art in representing cultural values and compare symbolic and aesthetic aspects across different cultures.
• Cultural Heritage: Students gain knowledge of key artistic and cultural assets within San Marino, understanding their value as shared heritage and demonstrating sensitivity towards their protection and preservation. They also recognize the cultural significance of images, artworks, and cultural objects produced internationally.

Methodologies:

The Art and Visual Communication curriculum employs a variety of teaching methods, including:

• Project-based learning, where students engage in creative projects, applying learned techniques and concepts.
• Laboratory activities, providing hands-on experience with various art materials and tools.
• Observation and analysis of artworks and visual texts, developing critical thinking skills.
• Group work and discussions, fostering collaboration and communication.
• Integration with other subjects, exploring the connections between art and other disciplines.
• Use of digital technologies, expanding creative possibilities and enhancing learning experiences.

The curriculum also emphasizes the importance of showcasing student work through exhibitions, allowing students, teachers, and parents to engage with their creative expressions.