01
How do two photographers from different decades use framing and light to construct social class?
Approach · Compare three images across two photographers, focusing on framing, exposure and context; conclude with reflection on your own practice.
Student PlusFree month--days·--hours·--minutes·--seconds--D --H --M --S
Visual Arts · IA research questions
12 IB Visual Arts IA ideas
Written and cross-checked by IB Diploma graduates: Alexander (41), Alejandro (40), Martina (40), Victoria (38), Martin (35), Maria (34)
· Checked against official IB guidance · Editorial policy
A strong Visual Arts IA comparative study chooses three artworks by at least two artists from different contexts, compares them through formal and critical analysis, and uses the comparison to reflect on the student's own practice.
Scope: Use high-resolution images and short captions. Anchor analysis in at least one source per artwork. Two or three cross-cutting themes work better than a catalogue. 10–15 screens.
02
How have three political posters from different movements used colour and typography to mobilise viewers?
Approach · Compare formal elements and intended audience; connect to your own design practice.
03
How do two sculptors working in different materials communicate bodily vulnerability?
Approach · Compare three works, analysing material, scale and posture; reflect on how those choices inform your own making.
04
How have three textile works from different cultures mapped identity through pattern and technique?
Approach · Compare patterning, material and cultural context; connect technical choice to meaning in your own textiles work.
05
How do two painters from different movements use mark-making to express time or movement?
Approach · Compare brushwork, rhythm and compositional tempo; evaluate how mark-making carries meaning in your own painting.
06
How have three street artists used scale and illegality to critique urban space?
Approach · Compare three works or interventions, focusing on site, scale and audience; reflect on site specificity.
07
How do two ceramicists from different traditions use surface and glaze to negotiate function and decoration?
Approach · Compare three vessels, analysing glaze chemistry, surface pattern and use; connect material decisions to your ceramics.
08
How have three installation artists used found objects to reconstruct memory?
Approach · Compare material choices, spatial arrangement and audience positioning; relate assemblage thinking to your own work.
09
How do two illustrators from different publishing contexts use line and narrative sequencing?
Approach · Compare spreads or single images, analysing line economy and narrative rhythm; reflect on sequencing in your illustration.
10
How have three artists used self-portrait strategies to perform gender across the 20th and 21st centuries?
Approach · Compare pose, medium and context; evaluate how identity is staged and reflect on your own self-representation.
11
How do two digital artists use glitch and data-moshing to critique technological transparency?
Approach · Compare three digital works, analysing formal corruption and intended meaning; connect glitch aesthetics to your practice.
12
How have three filmmakers' storyboards reveal a visual language different from their finished moving-image work?
Approach · Compare still-image sequences with final frames, focusing on composition and editing intention; reflect on pre-visualisation.
Sources & verification
Primary-source references used to verify key assessment facts on this page. Last source check: September 22, 2026.
These Visual Arts ideas are original iBacalao starting points, not official IB research questions. Check the current Visual Arts subject guide, your assessment session and your school's safety/ethics rules before committing to a question.
- IB — Diploma Programme assessment and examsOfficial overview of criterion-related assessment and internal assessment in the Diploma Programme.
- IB — current curriculum updatesOfficial hub for current and upcoming subject/assessment changes and subject briefs.
Picked a question? Check your draft before you submit.
iBacalao reviews your Resolved artworks — rationale draft (IA) criterion by criterion using the configured Visual Arts criteria for this assessment session — the first 3 lifetime checks are free.
Open the Visual Arts IA grader →Stop reading about it
Upload your draft and get criterion-by-criterion feedback in minutes.