On this page you will find Visual Arts Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope for 2025 final exams.
The guidelines apply to Paper 1: Visual Culture Studies (Topic 3). Learners will write this exam on 12 November 2025. The paper is 3 hours long, worth 100 marks, and requires learners to answer five essay-style questions out of eight.
Visual Arts Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope 2025 – What to Expect
The exam is structured around themes and contextual studies, using visual sources and essay responses. Learners must apply visual literacy, link artworks to their contexts, and demonstrate analytical and critical thinking.
Paper 1 – Visual Culture Studies (Topic 3)
Date: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Duration: 3 hours
Marks: 100
Format of Paper 1:
- Eight questions are provided.
- Learners must select and answer any five questions.
- Each question counts 20 marks.
- Questions will appear on the left-hand page, with visual sources (in colour) on the right-hand page.
- All responses must be in essay format (no lists of facts – penalised).
Question Themes (choose 5):
- The voice of emerging artists
- South African artists influenced by African and/or indigenous art forms
- Socio-political art, including resistance art of the 1970s and 1980s
- Art, craft, and spiritual works mainly from rural South Africa
- Multimedia and new media – alternative contemporary and popular art forms in South Africa
- Post-1994 democratic identity in South Africa
- Gender issues: masculinity and femininity
- Architecture in South Africa
Key Learning Requirements
Learners must:
- Study a minimum of five themes in depth.
- Be familiar with South African and international art, including traditional and contemporary styles.
- Use art terminology correctly: naturalism, expressionism, abstraction, stylisation, etc.
- Analyse artworks in terms of visual literacy elements, materials, techniques, style, function, context, and meaning.
- Study at least two artists (or architects) in each chosen theme, with a minimum of two artworks per artist.
- Understand broader issues: resistance art, propaganda art, appropriation, neglected traditions, social and political contexts.
Grand Total
- Five questions × 20 marks = 100 marks
- Externally set and marked, moderated provincially and nationally.
Conclusion
The Visual Arts Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope for 2025 confirms that learners will write Paper 1 on 12 November 2025, worth 100 marks in 3 hours. The paper is essay-based, with five chosen questions out of eight themes, focusing mainly on South African art within historical, cultural, and social contexts. Success requires visual literacy skills, critical analysis, and the ability to apply studied content to unseen visual sources.
