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Lesson 16 of 18
  • Year 10

Curating the artwork: selecting and arranging key pieces

I can curate and present key pieces of my artwork, to create a cohesive visual story.

Lesson 16 of 18
New
New
  • Year 10

Curating the artwork: selecting and arranging key pieces

I can curate and present key pieces of my artwork, to create a cohesive visual story.

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Creating a cohesive narrative for a portfolio involves structuring content for clarity.
  2. Capturing high-resolution images with good lighting and a clean background to present artwork clearly.
  3. Including sketches, notes, or step-by-step images help to show your development as an artist.

Keywords

  • Curate - to carefully select, organise, and present artwork

  • Cohesive - something that is well-connected, unified, and works together smoothly as a whole

  • Present - to show, display, or share something in a clear and intentional way

Common misconception

A good portfolio presentation should be is highly decorative and colourful to be engaging.

While creative touches like washi tape or coloured paint can add personality, a clean and minimal layout can be just as effective, sometimes even more so. The goal is to curate a cohesive presentation that supports your work, not distracts from it


To help you plan your year 10 art and design lesson on: Curating the artwork: selecting and arranging key pieces, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage pupils to step back and view their portfolio presentation like a moderator would. Ask them to think about what story their layout tells, how their images connect, and whether the viewer can clearly follow their ideas.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Sketchbooks, card, digital technology, scissors, glue, tape, card

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the big idea or subject that an artwork is based on called?

Correct Answer: theme

Q2.
What is a portfolio in art?

a display of tools, materials, mediums and techniques
Correct answer: a collection of artwork, sketchbook work and experiments
a list of famous artists, their styles, and their key influences

Q3.
What does a portfolio theme help you do?

Correct answer: to create a strong visual focus
to avoid trying new techniques
to use only one colour for your subject

Q4.
What is the emotion or feeling that a piece of art evokes for the viewer often called?

Correct Answer: the mood, mood

Q5.
Why is it useful to include mistakes or failed experiments in your portfolio?

It hides your best work amongst a range of studies.
It fills up more pages so that your portfolio looks full.
Correct answer: It shows your creative process and what you have learned.

Q6.
What is the story or journey shown through your artwork and sketchbook called?

Correct Answer: narrative

Additional material

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