The old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” is certainly true at YCIS Shanghai Hongqiao Campus, where people are talking about the new, colourful, large-scale mural comprised of eight hundred pictures, creating a beautiful synopsis of one word: community.The mural initiative was launched last year to give the YCIS community the opportunity to create art together. Hongqiao Campus Primary students, their families, staff, and even members of the community were given individual squares of wood to create personal works of art on their “tile”. To guide non-student contributions, several workshops were held on weekends and evenings to help share techniques and ideas for creating the tiles.To show students how art can connect communities beyond the classroom, the art teachers asked schools and artists in other countries to join as well. Art tiles were received from a huge range of artists, from students to professional artists, and from all over the world: Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Madagascar, and 16 other countries.We hope you’ll please stop by the Hongqiao Campus and see our mural, now hanging in the hallway that connects the new C Building to the B Building. This mural is just one more way the YCIS students are demonstrating their strength, talents, and appreciation for the arts.Contributed by Ms Regina Maniaci, Hongqiao Campus Primary Art Teacher