Abstract

This will be a short descriptive summary on literacy development in arts together with an analysis on the essential skills of elementary school in Portugal. The aim of this article is to talk about the concept of literacy according to three different view points: the first relates to the general concept and we will try to define visual literacy and multi-literacies; the second relates to literacy in arts and refers to the specification of the concept, its origins and development; finally, the third point refers to literacy in visual arts, its importance and theoretical support. We also intend to analyse the essential skills of visual education of the Ministry of Education in order to understand how they contribute to the development of literacy in visual arts.