By Zoe Coughlan, Secondary School Visual Arts Teacher
Back in September 2018, a group of then-Grade 11 students who went on to graduate in May 2020 began developing a mural project as a part of their IB Diploma CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) programme. Three years and a number of disruptions later, the mural has been completed and is now on display in HKA’s cafeteria space.
“A Joyful Celebration of Food” has truly been a community effort. Continuing on even after the project initiators graduated, the mural represents the strong sense of collaboration that is present at HKA. A series of Secondary School students managed the project over multiple years, from initial design proposal through to refining the design and ordering supplies. Primary School students created the original drawings and students in Grades 6-8 physically glued the tiles onto the boards. Throughout the process, a number of faculty and staff members provided continuity and guidance.
The original design team worked closely with local artist Eleanor McColl, who shared her expertise and skills. Eleanor’s guidance was invaluable as the students went about translating the original drawings into mosaic renderings and scaling up the design into a building-sized art piece.
Not only representative of HKA’s joyful food culture, the mural also symbolises our community’s resilience and tenacity. Despite having to face unexpected hurdles, everyone involved in this project recognised its significance as a part of the HKA story and persevered to see it through to completion.
