Students in the music program and across campus may have recently noticed a new feature in the music building as they walked on its second floor — in addition to plaques and class photos, two framed pieces of acrylic and oil paint art now add a burst of color to the hallway.
Starting on Aug. 30, a local high school youth art group Youth of Suha Suha (YOS) hung the first two of a series of artwork installations, featuring a wide array of flowers and instruments. Prior to the decorations, the wall was largely empty, blank spaces interrupted by the practice room doors.
Youth of Suha Suha focuses on creating free, interactive artwork for community spaces in need of more visual appeal. The group has previously collaborated with organizations such as Stanford Hospital and local animal shelters.
The organization is an offshoot of the Bay Area art studio Suha Suha. Since 2009, the studio has been cultivating young artists, hosting annual art shows and participating in countless competitions such as the Global Canvas competition. During the pandemic, Suha Suha’s students and teachers decided to create YOS to take on the challenge of creating art for local communities.
The idea for the new project set in the music building came from senior Jane Lee, a former YOS president. The music building installation served as both her color guard service project and an opportunity to spread art with YOS.
“I noticed that the second floor of the music building was almost empty, which was not particularly visually attractive,” Lee said. “I might as well combine art with something else I love, and I feel like the music building is a really special place for a lot of our students.”
According to Lee, YOS has a number of projects planned for the music building, each focusing on different aspects of the program. The group plans to install a painting on watercolor paper that illustrates marching band and color guard performers. Similarly, a final painting for orchestra and choir is set to be added in the future.
The organization hopes that by mixing additional artistic elements with the musical environment of the building, students are able to see improvement in their “second home.”
“Many students have grown a lot in that building,” Lee said. “I hope students passing by daily can be proud of what they’re doing there, and hopefully our art reflects that.”
Junior Clara Choi, the current president of YOS, said she feels inspired to do public art. While designing and painting are why she loves art, it’s also a way for her to leave a mark on the school and contribute back to the community.
“(Due to competing time commitments) I dropped band after freshman year, but I made a lot of memories which I tried to incorporate into the artwork,” Choi said. “I hope students passing by can see it and maybe see themselves in the paintings as well.”
Music director Jason Shiuan sees the service project as a meaningful contribution to the music environment. From the time he graduated SHS in 2011 to his return until today, the building lacked any large form of art.
He believes that art and music have numerous parallels; particularly, they are both forms of expression that do not usually involve words.
“I think that art really livens up and brings character to a space,” Shiuan said. “Since so many of us spend quite a bit of time in the music building, the art definitely enhances the experience by bringing some color and pop to the space.”
