10 Fine Arts Passion Project Ideas For High School Students

While the word “art” encompasses a wide spectrum of creative endeavors, the term “fine arts” typically refers to forms of artistic expression that prioritize aesthetic beauty and craftsmanship. Painting, sculpture, drawing, and dancing are good examples of fine arts, where artists focus on the mastery of technique, composition, and form. Fine arts dive more into the visual aspects of human perception, making them distinct from humanities projects and history projects, which each involve the study of human cultures and societies (and, often by extension, art from the past).

Perhaps your school offers the opportunity to learn about the basics of the fine arts, but you’re excited to go even deeper. A fine arts passion project can be a great way to gain practical skills and experience.

How Can I Find My Fine Arts Passion Project Focus?

The fine arts encompass a wide range of topics and skills, so it’s natural to have some difficulty in narrowing down a project topic at first. In this case, you can view a project as an opportunity to gain more advanced skills and challenge yourself. Alternatively, you can also research fine arts areas that you don’t have experience with and browse the project ideas below to see if a new topic stands out to you. If one does stand out, then you can use the project as a chance to learn new skills and maybe see if you have a natural talent or passion for the topic.

If you’re looking to deepen your interest in the fine arts, Polygence Pods offers a supportive, flexible learning environment designed to help you explore your creativity. Many artists find they thrive in collaborative settings, which is why Pods bring together small cohorts of three to six high school artists for creative projects lasting five to six weeks. Each group is guided by an artistic mentor, who also supports each student in developing an individual project. Groups meet weekly on Zoom for hour-long sessions led by the mentor, focusing on collective exploration of an exciting artistic topic, with participants completing assignments outside of sessions. If you’re interested in joining one of our upcoming fine arts Pods, sign up for our waiting list to be notified of new cohort start dates.

1. Solo performance/acting monologues 

Create a solo piece of video, theater, or performance art based on a conceptual idea that explores a personal, social, or political subject. The process of the project can be based in writing or on research into any type of source material. Consider if there are any personal experiences or concepts that resonate with you deeply, and also study other artists who have approached similar themes in their work. This type of project could be helpful to anyone wanting to audition, build an artistic portfolio, or apply for grants and scholarships or fellowships in film, theater, performance, or new media arts.

Idea by fine arts research mentor Sami

2. Community mural 

Collaborate with your local community to design and paint a mural that reflects a story about the surrounding neighborhood and area. Research who might be the best people to reach out to in order to get the ball rolling on the project and from there you can start to collaborate on a mural idea. After, think about who you’d like to get involved with the mural, whether it’s local artists, students, or local organizations. Highly recommend creating a time-lapse video to show the progress of the mural from start to finish!

3. Cultural heritage project 

Explore and celebrate your cultural heritage through art. This could involve creating traditional artworks, crafts, or performances that honor and are inspired by your cultural traditions. You can conduct preliminary research by talking to family members or by doing your own research on the Internet. Exploring your own heritage can be a very meaningful theme to explore through the fine arts.

4. Abstract expressionist painting series

Create a series of abstract paintings that explore emotions, moods, personal experiences, or something else through the use of color and brushwork. Definitely take inspiration from some of the abstract greats like Kandinsky or Rothko, but look to create your own unique style. You’ll find that you can produce some pretty creative stuff if you give yourself the space and time to think.

5. Sound sculpture installation

Construct a sound sculpture installation, a sculpture made of any objects that produce a sound. In your sound sculpture, you can incorporate musical instruments, basic objects, or even electronics to create an immersive sonic experience. If you’re confused or want to hear an example, check out this video, as well as this sound sculpture using electronic feedback created by Polygence mentor Tom! (Also, check out our music research projects for high school students.)

6. Experimental printmaking

Printmaking is the process of taking inked images from a template and placing them onto a surface, which can be wood, paper, fabric, or even metal. In this project, you can closely explore one specific printmaking technique, such as lithography or screenprint, and see if you can create your own printed art. Printmaking has a long and rich history, and you can begin your project by first reading about the art, observing some pieces, and watching videos that introduce you to printmaking.

7. Woodworking

Woodworking involves using carefully selected high-quality wood to create intricately designed sculptures, furniture, or decorative objects. Keep in mind that this project requires special equipment and resources, so first, see if your school may have access to this kind of equipment. Prioritizing safety during the use of tools is also essential. If you’re not sure where or how to start, check out this resource, where you’ll learn about the history of the craft and the basic skills you’ll learn throughout your project.

8. Kinetic sculpture installation

Create sculptures that incorporate movement, whether through mechanical components, wind, or other forces. See if you can brainstorm a theme first for your work or a concept you want to explore before creating the sculpture itself. Remember, you can use everyday objects to build the sculpture, and the overall size of the piece is up to you.

9. Live painting performances:

Create art in real-time during live events, such as during a concert, theater performance, sports event, or public gatherings, to capture the energy and atmosphere of the moment. Try to pick a practical spot where you can get a good view and also be comfortable painting or drawing - bringing an easel and canvas to a crowded sports game might not be the best idea!

10. Geometric abstraction painting series

Explore geometric abstraction through a series of paintings that play with shapes to create visually engaging compositions. Many modern artists have explored this concept before, but see if you can provide your own unique spin on it. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a great article about geometric abstraction that you can study and apply to your own works.

How Can I Showcase My Fine Arts Passion Project?

As you create your fine arts passion project, you should be thinking about how you want to showcase your project. You can see that in many of the project ideas above, there seems to be a natural endpoint or product that you’re trying to create, like a painting or a sculpture. While that in itself is a great accomplishment, also consider how you can showcase the process and story behind how you created those pieces. For example, if you’ve created a painting, think about maybe getting some footage of the painting in its early stages and any mockups that you did, before also getting some footage of the painting in its later stages. This could show the audience your process from start to finish. This could also be done in the form of a blog article accompanied by pictures. This will provide an impressive story for your passion project.

Summary

Due to the open-ended nature of artistic research and creation, no two fine arts projects are the same. Finding the perfect project to match your artistic passions isn’t always simple, so our passion project ideas for high school students are meant to be a source of inspiration. If you’re interested in pursuing a fine arts passion project but aren’t sure if a one-on-one format is best for your creative process, Polygence Pods offer an ideal starting point. Pods are guided artistic collaborations, bringing together small collectives of three to six talented high school artists to explore exciting topics in drawing, dance, sculpture, sound art, woodworking, printmaking, and more—all under the guidance of an expert mentor.

Pods offer a shorter time commitment than most programs, allowing you to complete your individual project outcome in six weeks or less. Best of all, sessions take place entirely online, so you can join from the comfort of your own home!

Which fine arts subject(s) would you be most interested in exploring? Sign up for Pods now and let us know!