B5 Creative Arts · Term 1 Week 1: Thinking and Exploring Ideas

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: B5.1.1.1.2 Explore to generate ideas by studying visual artworks created by selected Ghanaian and other African visual artists living in Africa that reflect the history and culture of the people of Africa

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Select and describe one artwork by El-Anatsui or another studied Ghanaian or African artist, stating its title, artist, and the materials used to make it.
Explain the theme or purpose of the selected artwork, connecting it to the history or culture of the people of Africa.
Identify and discuss the materials and methods (such as cutting, joining, twisting, and assemblage) used in creating the selected artwork.
Generate at least three original ideas for their own artwork that reflects the history or culture of the people of Ghana, based on the techniques and themes they have studied.
Present their ideas to a partner or small group, explaining how the materials, methods, and theme connect to Ghanaian history or culture.

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Curriculum details

Strand: Visual Arts (Strand 1)
Sub-strand: Thinking and Exploring Ideas (1.1)
Content standard: B5.1.1.1 - Demonstrate understanding of how to generate own ideas for artistic expressions about the people based on their history and culture, the environment and topical local/national/global issues
Indicator: B5.1.1.1.2 - Explore to generate ideas by studying visual artworks created by selected Ghanaian and other African visual artists living in Africa that reflect the history and culture of the people of Africa
Suggested placement: Term 1, Week 1 (Week 1 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Curriculum reference: Creative Arts Curriculum (Basic 4-6), 2019, p. 62
Transcribed from the official NaCCA publication. Check this page against the source.

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Learners are to:
- select an artwork of any of the artists studied in B5. 1.1.1.1.;
- reflect on the theme or purpose of the work. For example, the 'Warrior', an installation work by El-Anatsui, made from copper wire and bottle tops reflect the 'link between Africa, Europe, and America, referencing the fraught connection between the sale of slaves and liquor.
- study the materials and methods used in designing and making the artwork under study. For example, a) The bottle tops in El-Anatsui's 'Warrior' represent the liquor that was used to influence our people to enter into the slave business. The 'copper wire' represents the connection (power chain) linking Africa, Europe and America - the triangular (slave) trade; b) Materials: mixed media; c) Method: construction and assemblage (e.g. cutting, joining, twisting etc.); d) Display/Exhibition: installation by hanging on the wall or from the ceiling.
- generate ideas for own artworks that will reflect the history and culture of the people of Ghana.