“Forget the Process Portfolio! The Process Portfolio does not exist!”

Ah, the sparkling skyscrapers of Dubai.

I was there fairly recently, involved in a visual arts teacher-training workshop, with a focus (of course) on the new programme.

For those participants who were there and who may now be reading this I’d like to say thank you once again for all your creative and positive contributions! Your willingness to share was itself a great reflection of the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate.

1 One area that seemed to cause some confusion for some was the nature, role and purpose of the visual arts journal, and the relationship between the journal and the process portfolio.

I was getting the feeling that some teachers were thinking of the Process Portfolio as an actual and separate folder that existed alongside the journal. I was trying to get across the idea that the process portfolio will not really exist as a component until towards the end of the course, when all the records of process would be gathered, reviewed and assembled.

Which is why I stated loudly and fairly bluntly to the group “Forget the Process Portfolio! The Process Portfolio does not exist”

What I meant was that it’s a somewhat metaphysical entity. As a “portfolio”, it will probably be rather empty until some point in the second year. It will be created for assessment, with its content drawn from process mostly in the Visual Journal and resolved and/or unresolved artworks created during the course.

2 There still seems to be some confusion about whether resolved artworks can appear in the Process Portfolio, so I’d like to state loudly (again), “Yes, the Process Portfolio can include resolved (and or unresolved) artworks! (But not if they are included in the exhibition)”

3 Another question I’ve been asked is, do students take their process portfolio from the journal?

It’s very likely that a lot of media experimentation, trial and error, exploring techniques etc will occur in the journal: this would be the logical place for the student to explore media and also explain his/her ideas about what they are doing.

Gradually, therefore, over a period of weeks and months, the journal would build up into a record of the development of ideas, aims and intentions, different processes, the acquisition of technical skills, including some successes and failures, etc.

Some of these pages (if it’s a book) could very well become files submitted for the process portfolio at the end of the course.

However, since some processes may occur outside the book (ceramics, video, installation, large scale 3D work etc) , files of these processes could be uploaded as part of the process portfolio and not be from the journal.

So not ALL process needs to happen in the book (although if photos of some of these could be stuck onto pages, it would allow for accompanying written explanations).

And I suspect some teachers and students will spend a lot of time constructing a slick Process Portfolio when that time might be better spent making art!

Cheers