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Year 9

Making a collaborative portrait

I can contribute to a collaborative artwork, which highlights the importance of community.

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New
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Year 9

Making a collaborative portrait

I can contribute to a collaborative artwork, which highlights the importance of community.

Download all resources
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Share activities with pupils
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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Collaborative art is when artists and communities working closely together to make art.
  2. Collaborative art can bring communities together and make connections.
  3. Art can be a tool for helping people share experiences, confront challenges, and see new possibilities.

Keywords

  • Collaborative - working together with others to achieve a common goal or complete a task

  • Participants - people who take part in an activity, event, or competition

  • Community - a group of people who share common interests, goals, experiences or values

Common misconception

Collaborative art is just a group project with a leader.

Collaborative art is a collective process of co-creation where ideas and efforts are deeply intertwined.


To help you plan your year 9 art and design lesson on: Making a collaborative portrait, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It is suggested that student groups should be approximately 4-6 students. Student photos may be used for the task and should be printed before the lesson, alternatively pupils could bring in images.
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Equipment

Paper, oil pastel, masking tape, pen, pencils, paint, brushes.

copyright

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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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does the term collaborative mean?
completing a task independently without input from others
observing others as they work on a task
taking charge and directing others to complete a task
Correct answer: working together with others to achieve a common goal or complete a task
Q2.
Which is the best definition for the word 'share'?
to compete with others for resources or recognition
to keep ideas, objects, or feelings private from others
Correct answer: to let people use something you know or have, spreading ideas or objects
to take things from others without permission
Q3.
A community is a of people who share common interests, goals, experiences or values.
Correct Answer: group, collection, network, teams
Q4.
Which is the most accurate statement about art?
Correct answer: Art can be made by many people working collaboratively.
Art can only be made by professional artists.
Art is always created by one person, regardless of experience or background.
Art is made solely by an artist working independently.
Q5.
A conversation is an exchange of thoughts, ideas, or information between ...
Correct Answer: people, individuals, participants, communicators
Q6.
Which statement do you think best describes a collaborative conversation?
Correct answer: when all participants share ideas, listen actively, and work to a common goal
when everyone talks over each other without focusing on the topic
when ideas are shared, but only one person's opinion is valued
when one person speaks, and the others listen without contributing

Exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Match these key words and definitions.
Correct Answer:collaborative,working together with others to achieve a common goal or task
tick

working together with others to achieve a common goal or task

Correct Answer:conversation,an exchange of thoughts, ideas, or information between people
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an exchange of thoughts, ideas, or information between people

Correct Answer:community,a group of people sharing common interests, goals, or values
tick

a group of people sharing common interests, goals, or values

Correct Answer:participants,people who take part in an activity, event, or competition
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people who take part in an activity, event, or competition

Q2.
A collaboration is a group working ...
independently and sharing ideas later.
on the same task without sharing ideas or resources.
Correct answer: together to achieve a goal by sharing ideas and combining strengths.
together to achieve a goal through individual efforts.
Q3.
Collaborative projects ...
Correct answer: can be a combination of working together on a single task or on separate tasks.
involve groups who always work on a single task but at the same time.
involve independent work with no need for coordination or combining efforts.
must have individuals working independently throughout.
Q4.
What do collaborative conversations create which is useful to a project?
a sense of competition, focusing on individual strengths and ignoring others
isolation, as people work alone without sharing their thoughts or building trust
Correct answer: a shared goal, value for everyone's input, leveraging strengths to build trust
a structured hierarchy, where one person's ideas dominate and others follow
Q5.
Which statement is most true for art made in collaborative projects?
Correct answer: People share experiences, confront challenges, explore possibilities together.
People focus solely on individual expression without collaboration.
It follows traditional methods without encouraging creativity or new ideas.
It is created independently by each person with no shared themes or ideas.

Additional material

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