The Art of Bringing People Together

by Grace Hoang

When I was first approached with the opportunity to design the classroom murals, saying it was nerve-racking is an understatement. The idea of having something so permanent displayed to (hopefully) generations of students bounced around in my head so much that I didn’t even know where to start.

I finally landed on the five designs that are now painted on the very walls of our most recent school, and I have to say that the sleepless, stressful nights were worth it. To see everything come to life thanks to the the planning team and all the volunteers was nothing short of amazing. The collaboration that unfolded through altering the base designs and all the volunteer teams incorporating their own personal touches really exceeded my expectations for how much impact my art could have in bringing people together to create something beautiful.

Not only were these artworks meant to look beautiful, but also resonate in a beautiful way with the people who see it. They are simple, but the thought behind it is something that I hope to share in this blog:

The bird flying to higher heights to the second floor, the sunflowers, the boat of fishermen, the boat full of numbers and letters, and the fish swimming towards the sun are pretty and relatively plain ideas, but they all point towards moving forward and to education. The same bird who’s flying to the second floor isn’t just showing where the stairs are but holding a backpack to ascend higher than the level it’s at both physically and mentally. The sunflowers don’t just go with Sunflower Mission but also have pencils for stems as education is the backbone of our organization. The boat of fishermen have their harvest and books in hopes that the children can incorporate learning within their day-to-day lives even more. The boat of numbers and letters is kept afloat with the knowledge as we hope the students will be. And the group or school of fish swim towards a brighter future that Sunflower Mission constantly strives to bring the children closer to.

To see our art come to life starting with one night of vegetating and ending with an organization that feels more like family to bring people together gives me a feeling I can’t begin to describe. I am honored to have this opportunity and it was a privilege to be able to share it.