When does a simple dot become art — and who gets to decide?

This B2–C2 lesson introduces students to the extraordinary world of Yayoi Kusama and uses her instantly recognisable art as a starting point for much bigger questions about creativity, originality, artistic value, perception and social media.

Rather than asking students to discuss abstract ideas without preparation, the lesson gradually gives them the knowledge, vocabulary and concepts they need to form and defend their own opinions.

Students discover key moments in Kusama's life and artistic development, experiment with the effect of repetition, build their own criteria for deciding what gives art value, and explore the immersive world of the famous Infinity Mirror Rooms. They then consider a very contemporary question: when people queue for an artwork partly to photograph themselves inside it, does social media diminish the experience — or become part of it?

The lesson culminates in an informed debate and a creative challenge in which students transform an ordinary object using their own visual language, then write the museum label that explains the idea behind their work.

Students will:

• learn about Yayoi Kusama and her artistic language

• develop vocabulary for discussing and interpreting art

• explore repetition, originality, context and artistic intention

• distinguish between an initial reaction and an informed judgement

• use evidence to support opinions and counterarguments

• discuss art, experience and social media

• create and explain their own conceptual artwork

Level: B2–C2
Skills: Speaking • Reading • Vocabulary • Critical Thinking • Creative Writing
Themes: Art • Creativity • Identity • Perception • Social Media • Originality

A lesson for students who may begin by saying “It's just dots — I could do that.”

By the end, they'll have considerably more to argue with.