I completed my IB (International Baccalaureate) HL Art Exam last April (2024) after two long years—and hundreds of hours—of work. Students spend the first year of this course honing their artistic skills in a range of methods and mediums before going on to IB Art II, at which time they are prompted to pick a general concentration (mine was "relationship with the self") and create a body of work that centers around this theme. While the instructor is meant to hold your hand quite a bit through the first half, the second half of this course is almost entirely self-guided, making it very unique and radically different than any class most high schoolers will have experienced up to that point—that's how it was for me, at least.

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Involved in the exam is a portfolio exhibition, of course, as well as a process portfolio showcase (where you construct a presentation taking examiners through your creative process) and a comparative study (where you compare and contrast the work of two artists of your choice in a variety of areas). I have linked all of these elements below, should you feel the desire to look into them further. 

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I was also an IB Diploma candidate and chose to write my extended essay (an extremely in-depth, 4000 word research paper that students develop with the help of a subject-specific advisor over the course of a year and a half) on the visual arts—specifically in regards to how Black masculinity has been portrayed throughout history. I have linked that below as well, though, I will warn you, it is indeed very long; that said, I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into that paper so please read it if the subject matter sounds at all interesting to you.

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Anyway—thanks a million and I hope you enjoy!!