Building a Stronger Community Through Art

If you walk the main hall of our secondary building in front of our reception, you may find a crowd gathered to admire the distinctive beauty of our Year 8 artwork. Portraits in vivid colours line the walls, enticing you in to discover more about the characters on display. The subjects of these striking images are none other than the unsung heroes of our BIS HCMC community, our Support Team, comprised of over 30 guards and cleaning staff. 

After the return to face to face learning last year, students were influenced by the work of the American artist Bisa Butler, who crafts quilted portraits of underrepresented people in the black community. Former year 8 students (current Year 9), discussed who in our community may get less recognition than others and decided they wanted to honour the hard work of this indispensable part of our school. In addition to this, their pieces are a celebration of the Vietnamese culture and are a display of gratitude to our gracious host country.

With the guidance of our dedicated secondary Art team, students researched and analysed Butler’s work through articles and videos. Butler herself started out as a secondary school Art teacher and has since gained huge recognition with her intricate quilted portraits. Each piece of fabric is sewn masterfully to create a kaleidoscope of colours within the subject. Butler adorns her portraits with vibrant West African textiles and Kente cloth to change the narrative surrounding her subjects. Similarly, BIS HCMC students sourced local patterns from traditional tiles and fabric to capture the stories of our staff’s Vietnamese heritage.

Janet Williams, Head of Art at Secondary recalls that during the months that it took to complete the pieces, students became more personable with staff members. They became more mindful of the people beyond their job titles, often referring to each individual respectfully by name as they would their teachers. Our students were so engrossed in this project, that with limited time available they gave up their free time to complete it wholeheartedly.

Throughout this process, students had to think carefully about the narrative they wanted to express with their work, via both colour and technique. The colour palette in Butler’s quilted portraits is chosen purposefully by the artist to honour traditional African Art. Eye-catching crimson red and azure blue blanket the faces of these timeless figures from the past. To capture this evocative palette, our Year 8 students were encouraged to use a complementary colour scheme in addition to expressive colours which they felt best depicted their particular subject’s character. 

BIS HCMC Art teachers helped students to master the skill of blending with oil pastels to create shadow and form, whilst students also learned about the technique of resist between gouache paint and pastels. You can see this in the textural paint wash over the surfaces of the pastel patterned backgrounds.

As we came together for these photographs, students intermixed with staff, our smiles beamed with joy and in the air, you could feel a deep sense of pride in being part of this heartwarming community.

This impressive portrait gallery exhibits the power of art in bridging the gap between cultures and has undeniably created deeper and more meaningful bonds within our community. The opportunity to be seen, heard and valued is pivotal in creating a sense of belonging in our unified BIS HCMC community.