At YCIS Shanghai’s Century Park Campus, students and faculty have been hard at work on a collaborative art project this semester. Stemming from a fundraising initiative during the 2015/16 school year, the students have continued their good work well into this semester.

The initial idea was borne from the idea of raising money for charity during the annual ‘Science and Maths’ week during the last school year by selling baked goods decorated like the “Periodic Table of Elements”. As they planned the bake sale, the students also hatched the idea of decorating one of the campus picnic tables in the design of the “Periodic Table” in order to match the theme. Led by the Head of the Science Department, Mr. Neil Hudson, the students stripped and re-varnished the bench, and then painted the table with a handsome representation of the Periodic Table.

With the students on campus enjoying the “Periodic ‘Picnic’ Table” so much, this year a group of students, also led by Mr Hudson, began another project in collaboration with the school’s Artist-in-Residence, Ms. Esther Chow. This time, the theme was based on nature. According to Hudson, “We thought about what would be relevant to Shanghai and the school (in an urban area), elaborating on how urban growth can be offset by movement of parks and the percentage requirements to maintain green space.” This lead to the current bench being decorated in Ms. Chow’s floral designs, which is her specialty. Chow notes that, “It’s still a work in progress at this point, but the students are doing a great job bringing even more colour to campus!” The students have been working on the project during their free time, with Hudson and Chow supporting and painting alongside.

The Visual Arts department at YCIS empowers students to express themselves confidently, and the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme give students the opportunity to work side-by-side with professional artist on a variety projects, which is in line with the holistic education offered by YCIS. To learn more about the Art Programme at the school, please click here.