Lena Dajani (Art Reach Bahrain) & Manuella Makhlouf (Art Teacher, Beacon Private School) share how Beacon Private School students created a legacy mural as a gift for future generations to inspire and celebrate the spirit of creative collaboration.
It started out as a suggestion to beautify an area of the school, which took off and grew exponentially into something so much more. The idea was to create a space of tranquility where learners and teachers could get away to take a few deep breaths and practice mindfulness, a cornerstone of BPS philosophy to support students’ well-being.
The mural was a collaborative effort between Art Reach Bahrain, the learners (Grades 6-10), parents & teachers.
The learners were challenged! But by persevering they:
- Acquired new technical skills in the art of mosaic-making
- Acquired soft skills to work as a team and how through a joint effort, can collectively improve their school environment
- Learned about Henri Matisse, a 19th century French artist who valued and captured nature in his unique way using paper cut-outs.
Art history crosses time, space, and cultures and BPS continues to learn from Matisse’s mastery of color and design.
Meeting for in-person workshops after school was necessary to replace students’ screen time with social interaction in a (newly opened) post-covid environment. It’s widely understood that the mental health of our youth and society as a whole suffered during the pandemic. They strongly believe that community art initiatives can make society stronger by building on human connections and the spirit of collaboration.
The fund-raising for the installation of the mosaic mural was a tremendous effort where the school management, students, and teachers raised BD 660 through dressing up as a favourite artist, water fun play on a lawn slippery slide and water sponge wars. The school paid for the bulk of the cost of the actual mosaic, while the money raised paid for the balance and cost of installation.
BPS is currently working with the learners to redesign the area and create that space of tranquility. They are currently looking at two more phases to this project to be carried out over the next two years.
For more information on BPS, visit their website or call +973 66000088.
