Finding Your Voice

Curriculum Area

NZ Curriculum Learning Area: The Arts – Visual Arts
Level: NCEA Level 3 (Year 13)
Strand Focus: Understanding the Visual Arts in Context | Developing Practical Knowledge | Developing Ideas

Lesson Focus

This lesson will guide students through the process of writing an effective artist statement that articulates their conceptual intentions, technical choices, and design influences within their individual body of work. This integrates directly with the NCEA Visual Arts standards (e.g., AS91447 - Use drawing to demonstrate understanding of conventions appropriate to a design/moving image field), aligning with the emphasis on the design process and informed decision-making.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Reflect critically on their personal art-making process.
• Articulate their conceptual ideas and technical decisions.
• Identify and explain influences from other artists and cultural contexts.
• Begin writing a clear, concise, and meaningful artist statement.

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Success Criteria

Students will be successful when they:

✅ Draft an artist statement that explains their concept, techniques, and influences.
✅ Reflect their design process journey, not just the outcome.
✅ Use appropriate art terminology and references to Māori and/or global contexts if relevant.
✅ Demonstrate ability to self-reflect and speak in their own authentic artistic voice.

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Timeframe

Lesson Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 25 Year 13 Students

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Resources Needed

• Visual diaries or sketchbooks
• A3 planning sheets with sentence starters and structure scaffold
• Whiteboard & markers
• Printed examples of artist statements from NZQA exemplars (Level 3 Visual Arts)
• A device (if using digital portfolios)
• Pens, highlighters, and post-its

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Lesson Breakdown

⏱️ 0–10 min: Whakawhanaungatanga & Introduction

Purpose: Establish purpose and relevance

• Begin with a short karakia and roll check-in.
• Show three real New Zealand-based artist statement excerpts (including one from a Māori or Pasifika artist)—read aloud and discuss:
  • What’s being communicated?
  • What was effective or inspiring?
• Prompt class: “Why is it important your voice comes through in your work?”

📚 Te Ao Māori Connection: Encourage students to consider how their whakapapa, tikanga or identity may shape their practice and visual language. Reflect on the whakataukī from the subject Learning Matrix that aligns with their kaupapa.

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⏱️ 10–20 min: Unpacking the Artist Statement

Purpose: Introduce elements and structure

On the whiteboard, break down the components of a compelling artist statement into three main parts:

1. Why – What is your conceptual purpose? What story are you telling or exploring? What theme or problem are you addressing?
2. How – What techniques, media or processes are you using? Explain your decisions in terms of the design process.
3. Who – Which artists or cultural traditions are influencing your work, and how? How have you researched and drawn on these?

Distribute scaffolded worksheets with these prompts and sentence starters for each part.

🔍 Literacy Support: Offer descriptive vocabulary lists tailored to design fields (e.g., contrast, iteration, juxtaposition, type hierarchy, scale, etc.).

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⏱️ 20–35 min: Individual Reflection and Free Writing

Purpose: Encourage deep thinking and give space for voice

Students begin drafting their statement in their visual diaries or on the provided planning sheet. Encourage focus on voice over vocabulary — it’s OK to write as they speak at this stage.

Circulate and conference briefly with students. Use guiding questions:

• “What personal connection do you have to this idea?”
• “How did you decide on this technique?”
• “Why did you return to that image or motif?”
• “What’s evolving?”

💡 Consider playing ambient instrumental music to support concentration and flow during writing.

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⏱️ 35–50 min: Peer Feedback Carousel

Purpose: Practice speaking about artwork verbally and build confidence

In small groups (3-4), students share their draft statements aloud.

Listeners:

• Respond using two sentence stems: “I heard that you are exploring…” and “One part that stood out to me was...”
• Highlight a phrase they liked or suggest one addition or clarification

This builds community, clarity, and prepares akonga for verbal articulation often required in moderation panels or external presentation contexts.

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⏱️ 50–58 min: Wrap-Up & Artist Statement Wall

Purpose: Celebrate and visualise process

Ask each student to write a one-sentence version of their statement on a post-it and place it on the "Artist Statement Wall" – an area of the classroom or board space dedicated to artist identity and emerging voice.

These can be revisited through the term to track growth and transformation of their work and ideas.

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⏱️ 58–60 min: Reflection & Next Steps

As a class, reflect on:

• What was challenging about putting their art into words?
• What connections did they make between their process and their influences?

📘 Homework / Next Steps:
Students will refine their statements over the week and submit draft versions via visual diary or digital folder for formative feedback.

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Teacher Notes & Extensions

• This lesson supports preparation for internal portfolios and ensures students are equipped to integrate reflective writing across their body of work.
• Connect to the NCEA Learning Matrix by prompting students to revisit their project's Big Ideas and local context.
• Consider linking to digital storytelling formats, allowing students to record themselves reading their statement with visuals of their process for multimodal portfolio submission.
• For cross-curricular integration, English teachers may support structure and literacy — particularly where ELL learners are involved.

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Assessment Integration (Formative)

This work provides evidence toward:

🔹 Visual Arts 3.1 / AS91447: Use drawing to demonstrate understanding of conventions appropriate to a design field
🔹 Visual Arts 3.2 / AS91452: Systematically clarify ideas using drawing informed by established practice

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“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.” – With your basket and my basket the people will live.
Encourage akonga to see the artist statement as a bridge — a weaving of their thinking and craft into one powerful story.