Art is a Thinking Subject

How do we encourage intellectual development in art lessons?

As art teachers, we know our subject offers more than just practical skills. While the ability to draw, paint, and manipulate materials is important, we must also prioritise the intellectual development of our students. Art is a thinking subject. It asks young people to make sense of the world, to form and express ideas, and to find meaning. Yet too often, in the race to meet deadlines and assessment criteria, it’s the thinking that gets pushed aside.

So how do we bring it back to the centre?

Use Diverse Artists to Spark Thinking

The artists we choose to share with our students can be a powerful starting point for deeper thinking. By including a diverse range of voices—across culture, gender, geography, and time—we open up the curriculum to richer conversations. Students see that art doesn’t come from one place or one type of person, and this helps them understand the subject as something living, evolving, and connected to their own lives.

I used to struggle with my desire to use contemporary artists because I knew students were more likely to engage with them and the idea that they should leave school knowing about so-called famous artists. This was a silly worry because of course it’s fantastic to compare and contrast artists and to investigate who has influenced a contemporary artist.

Think about the questions an artwork can raise: What is this artist saying? Why did they make this work? How does it make me feel, and why? These are all opportunities for students to engage intellectually with art.

Are you brave enough to deliver a whole lesson where students discuss art? My ‘Talking About Art‘ download may help.

Museums and Galleries: Real-World Thinking

Whenever possible, use museums and galleries—virtually or in person—to extend learning beyond the classroom. Being in a gallery invites a different kind of thinking. With the right guidance, it encourages students to slow down, look closely, and consider context. And crucially, it shows them that the things we study in school exist in the wider world—that art isn’t just something you do to pass an exam.

If a visit isn’t possible, many galleries now offer excellent online resources, virtual tours, and artist interviews. Build these into lessons to foster curiosity and conversation.

Draw from Your Own Artistic Practice and Education

Never underestimate how much your own experiences as a learner and maker can shape the intellectual environment in your classroom. When you share what you’ve studied, what inspired you, or how you worked through a creative block, you model authentic artistic thinking. You show that art is a process of exploration, not just production.

I often reflect on how my own education introduced me to the idea that making and thinking go hand in hand. Art isn’t just about creating an outcome—it’s about wrestling with ideas, solving problems, and understanding yourself and others.

Encourage Meaning-Making as a Skill

Too often, students think art is about making something look “right.” But some of the most powerful art doesn’t aim for realism—it aims for meaning. We can encourage this in the classroom by designing projects that ask students to respond to themes, current events, personal experiences, or big questions.

Ask students to explain their choices: Why this material? Why that composition? What are you trying to say? Encourage annotation, reflection, and discussion alongside making. These habits help students become more articulate, thoughtful artists—and ultimately, more confident thinkers.

Art is a Thinking Subject – If YOU make it one!

If we want our students to leave school with more than just a portfolio of work, we need to prioritise their intellectual growth. That means creating space for thinking as well as making, for conversation as well as creation.

Use diverse artists to broaden perspectives. Bring the gallery into the classroom. Share your own artistic journey. And most importantly, teach your students that art is a language for exploring the world—and their place in it.

Let’s keep fighting for a curriculum that values the mind as much as the hand.

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The Arty Teacher

Sarah Crowther is The Arty Teacher. She is a high school art teacher in the North West of England. She strives to share her enthusiasm for art by providing art teachers around the globe with high-quality resources and by sharing her expertise through this blog.

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