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The IB Visual Arts Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio is a major external assessment in the IB Diploma Programme Visual Arts course. It allows students to document, reflect on, and develop their creative thinking and studio practice as an inquiry-driven process. Understanding the assessment criteria using a clear preparation checklist can help students present a focused submission. This post outlines the IB Visual Arts Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio criteria and provides a practical checklist aligned with the official rubric in the IB Visual Arts guide.
IB Visual Arts Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio Criteria and Checklist
The Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio is marked out of 32 marks and is externally assessed. It is common to both SL and HL and focuses on how students investigate, generate, refine and curate their art-making as inquiry. Students must submit the following 2 mandatory documents:
One PDF file of up to 15 screens, containing curated visual evidence and short written texts. The written text should not exceed 3000 words, with visual material remaining predominant.
One separate text file listing sources used
The portfolio must explicitly include the inquiry questions or generative statements that guide their work and show how one or more lines of inquiry developed over time.
Criterion A: Exploration and experimentation – 8 marks
This criterion assesses how effectively students explore and experiment with a variety of art-making forms and creative strategies in order to develop their own visual language. Examiners look for purposeful and meaningful experimentation rather than isolated trials. Strong portfolios show how students test materials, techniques, processes and approaches in order to make decisions about their own practice.
For a maximum of 8 points:
Show experimentation with different media, techniques and formats (for example, drawing, photography, digital work, mixed media or sculptural approaches).
Demonstrate the use of varied creative strategies, such as reworking, layering, repurposing or manipulating imagery.
Make clear links between experimentation and the development of personal visual language.
Use short reflections or annotations to explain why experiments were carried out and what was learned from them.
Avoid presenting experiments as finished artworks without showing the thinking and testing behind them.
Criterion B: Practical investigation – 8 marks
This criterion assesses how students investigate the work and ideas of other artists in a practical and meaningful way to inform their own art-making. The focus is not on writing extended research or biographies, but on visually and critically examining how artists work and then applying those insights within the student’s own creative practice. Strong submissions clearly demonstrate that the student has analysed specific artistic methods, materials, formal qualities, conceptual approaches or creative strategies and used these as inspiration for experimentation and development.
For a maximum of 8 points:
Include visual and written evidence of investigating the techniques, materials, concepts or strategies used by other artists.
Show how specific elements from those investigations influenced your own experiments or outcomes.
Avoid simple copying or obvious imitation of another artist’s work.
Use subject-specific vocabulary when analysing processes, formal qualities and methods.
Make an explicit connection between artist research and your own art-making decisions.
Criterion C: Lines of inquiry – 8 marks
This criterion assesses how effectively students use inquiry questions or generative statements to guide and structure their art-making. The portfolio must demonstrate that the creative process is driven by inquiry rather than by producing disconnected artworks. Examiners expect to see clearly articulated questions or statements that frame the student’s intentions and provide direction for experimentation, idea generation and development. The development of work should be visually and conceptually connected across multiple screens, demonstrating how ideas become more refined as the investigation progresses.
For a maximum of 8 points:
Clearly state the inquiry questions or generative statements you worked with.
Show how these questions structure and connect your portfolio screens.
Demonstrate how your ideas evolve and develop across different stages of art-making.
Include evidence of ideation and concept planning, such as mind maps, brainstorming, sketches or planning diagrams.
Show how new ideas emerge through experimentation, false starts and problem-solving.
Criterion D: Critical review – 8 marks
This criterion focuses on how students reflect on their creative process and use evaluation to refine both material and conceptual practices. Reflection should go beyond description and clearly demonstrate critical thinking about the effectiveness of artistic choices. Examiners look for evidence that students review their work, identify strengths and limitations, and respond constructively by making meaningful changes. High-quality submissions demonstrate that reflection leads to improved outcomes and that students actively use review as an essential part of their creative development.
For a maximum of 8 points:
Include reflective annotations that evaluate the success of experiments and outcomes.
Show how feedback, critiques and dialogue influenced revisions.
Demonstrate refinement through visual sequencing (for example, showing stages of development side-by-side).
Explain why certain changes were made to improve technical or conceptual aspects.
Provide evidence of problem-solving and resolution within the creative process.
We hope you found this post helpful in learning more about the Art-Making Inquiries Portfolio. For more useful materials associated with the IB, check out the wide variety of IA, EE and TOK exemplars available at Clastify and other guides available on our blog.
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