The resource develops essential discipline-specific knowledge and skills, such as interpreting meaning in artworks, experimenting with contemporary artistic techniques, and understanding art’s role in addressing political, cultural, and environmental issues. It introduces key vocabulary, including activism, symbolism, composition, audience, intention, mixed media, conceptual art, and message-driven design, which supports students in articulating their ideas and responses effectively.

Ultimately, We Change the World is an essential resource for Year 7-8 teachers integrating meaningful, socially relevant learning into their Visual Arts and VCD programs. By engaging students with real-world connections between art, activism, and identity, it promotes higher-order thinking, student agency, and inclusivity. This resource provides students with the opportunity to develop their creative voice while understanding the broader impact of visual storytelling in contemporary society.

The National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) We Change the World exhibition offers a dynamic and visually engaging educational resource that can support Year 7–8 students in developing an understanding of art as a form of communication, activism, and social commentary.

The featured contemporary artworks explore critical themes such as identity, equity, and social change, aligning with the Visual Arts curriculum strands: Explore, Develop, Create, and Present (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2025).

By analysing and responding to these artworks, students use appropriate visual arts language to describe how artists and designers communicate personal and social messages through materials, techniques, and technologies.

The resource also supports the development of students' critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, and intercultural capability, aligning with the General Capabilities and Cross-Curriculum Priorities.

Educators are supported with structured activities that foster visual analysis, conceptual thinking, and studio-based responses, broadening students’ understanding of diverse artistic practices and empowering them to reflect on their role as active, informed citizens through art.

Aligned with the Visual Arts strands, this resource supports Making and Responding through Exploring and Presenting. Through content descriptions, such as analysing how artists use visual conventions to express ideas and experimenting with materials, techniques, and processes, students critically engage with contemporary art and design. Additionally, helping students explore how visual arts communicate meaning.

The achievement standard connections reinforce students' ability to evaluate contemporary artworks and understand how design can be used for advocacy and social change.

From a pedagogical standpoint, We Change the World offers a range of teaching and learning strategies that foster student engagement.

Inquiry-based learning is encouraged through artwork analysis and discussions about artist intent, aligning with constructivist theory, which emphasizes meaning-making through exploration (Piaget, 1952).

Collaborative activities prompt students to examine how art communicates change, supporting Vygotsky’s (1978) zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding, where students learn through social interaction and guided support (Vygotsky, 1978).

Project-based learning extends these discussions by challenging students to create their own artwork inspired by social issues, a method grounded in Dewey’s (1938) experiential learning theory, which highlights learning through hands-on experience and reflection (Dewey, 1938).

Freire’s (1970) critical pedagogy ensures students engage with social justice issues, encouraging critical thinking and empowerment. Additionally, Visual Thinking Strategies (Housen & Yenawine, 2000) support open-ended discussions, helping students develop deeper interpretations of artworks. These strategies align with Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Anderson et al,. 2001), guiding students from lower-order thinking skills, such as remembering and understanding, to higher-order skills, such as analysing, evaluating, and creating (Freire, 1970; Housen & Yenawine, 2000, also see; Anderson et al., 2001).