The Learning Matrix contains seven Big Ideas for Visual Arts. They are:

Big Idea 1: Whakapapa - art is a descendant, and a creator, of culture. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we respond to and reflect on our unique bicultural foundations, and the ethnically and culturally diverse society we share this land with, in current and historical contexts

Making art requires access to authentic learning and representation through active participation. It is important to foster respect and understanding of toi Māori and other art from other cultures. Place-based learning demonstrates first hand that the practice of art is always in a context and established practices/tikanga/forms/styles are related but not limited to time, place, space, people, ethnicity, culture, technology etc. These established practices/tikanga/forms/styles can be learned from, selected and used with intention. Art crosses subject boundaries so that students have a stronger understanding of the world and their place in it. As such, it is important that learners in the arts in Aotearoa New Zealand value and respect te ao Māori and art from other cultures.

Big Idea 2: Curiosity, collaboration, courage, critical thinking, and creativity are integral to learning in the Arts

In order to develop their art practice and skills, learners should explore different starting points and processes for making work. For instance, creating work in response to a proposal or proposition, or as a means of self-expression, generating, analysing, and clarifying ideas systematically and in response to multiple sources of feedback. Critical reflection can be used to evaluate new outcomes (both expected and unexpected) and to provide divergent paths to explore further. Making involves trying new things, taking risks and making mistakes. It is also important to use and refine artistic vision and reflect on the impetus for making art.

Big Idea 3: Conventions allow the artist to create a cohesive and fluent artistic expression

Artists can use specific practices, processes, materials, techniques, and technologies to create work as intended. They generate, analyse and clarify work in order to further refine an intended outcome. Learners should be able to demonstrate an iterative and/or cyclic process in the creation of artwork. They should value different processes and ways of making, and through some process demonstrate an ability to create sustained, coherent works. These works can be presented in a variety of ways including but not limited to, space, environment, lighting, time, movement, sound, supporting materials, in venues such as galleries, public areas, stages and theatres.

Big Idea 4: The Arts are an aesthetic language through which humans can express their identity, culture, ethnicity, ideas, feelings, moods, beliefs, political viewpoints, and personal perspectives, which can evoke responses

It is important to learn to identify conventions from established practices/tikanga/forms/styles both in others’ work and one’s own, and understand how these conventions communicate meaning. Learners can then use this to interpret, analyse and value the intended meanings of artworks and develop an ability to deliver meaning in their own work with intention. Art can record and/or challenge social and cultural discourse. In exploring this, learners see how an artist can have agency when creating work which can be a tool for powerful self-expression and evoke a strong response.

Big Idea 5: The Arts are a medium to explore, discover, and express te reo Māori (language)

This idea connects particularly to whakapapa and the bicultural imperative in Aotearoa New Zealand, to value mātauranga Māori, toi Māori, and te reo Māori, and tikanga of tangata whenua. Learners should have opportunities to observe, participate, and reflect on processes used in te ao Māori traditions, and other cultures’ practices, to understand how hauora is promoted and values whakapapa. Learners should be encouraged to demonstrate meaningful and practical understanding of mana whenua and how this applies to the learning of, and about, toi Māori. Tikanga, kawa, and te reo Māori can be used to relate to other cultural art forms.

Big Idea 6: Whakawhanaungatanga: The Arts support social sustainability by building and nurturing communities and relationships through the creation and exploration of art

Many creative endeavours; art/performance/experiences/outcomes, seek to create social change (including, but not limited to well-being, propaganda, political, societal, historical, health, and local and global issues). Participating in, and learning about, art should therefore foster an understanding of, and ability to respond as a mode of 'creative action'. Active participation in the arts can be an opportunity to celebrate diversity, create understanding, and explore self as a way of connecting with others. To understand the social impact of art in context, it is important to acknowledge and reflect on art/performance/experiences/outcomes that are made in hapū/whānau/group/community/global settings with a shared vision.

Big Idea 7: Taonga Tuku Iho: The arts explore and express Māori cultural identity and contribute to the continuing development and sustainability of tangible and intangible taonga Māori

Connections can exist between people, places, objects, and narratives of learning over generations that are linked together by taonga, through research, experience, and the creation of art/performance/outcomes. Learners should have the opportunity to explore and understand how taonga can be tangible and intangible, and how this links to creative outcomes. Active participants in the arts in the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand should demonstrate an understanding of the role of taonga within te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori, and the arts' contexts through research and experience.

Significant Learning

Within these Big Ideas sits the Significant Learning. This is the learning that is too important to be left to chance. Due to the nature of Visual Arts as a discipline, aspects of Significant Learning often cross over multiple Big Ideas and the structure of the Visual Arts Learning Matrix reflects this. The Big Ideas are listed in the left-hand column and the Significant Learning next to them, organised into categories of:

• Visual Arts Context - Understanding how art is made, viewed, and valued
• Visual Arts Processes - Exploring and demonstrating how art practices operate
• Visual Arts Practice - Applying visual arts contexts and understanding visual arts processes to make own work.

While it is important for students to have the opportunity to engage with all the Significant Learning, not all of it will be directly assessed. The Learning Matrix should not be thought of as a checklist of individual items to teach. Rather, these are aspects of learning that can be woven together to give students a foundational understanding in the visual arts that will enable them to demonstrate the skills and knowledge necessary for assessment.