KIS Holds Annual Fine Arts Week

Korea International School (KIS) Pangyo campus students tackled the idea of inspiration as it held its annual Fine Arts Week from April 10th to 13th. Focusing on the theme of ‘inspiration’ this year, students were given the opportunity to celebrate the arts.

KIS faculty from various subject areas, including English, Maths, Physics, and Design Thinking, collaborated in order to provide creative activities for students which enabled them to showcase their unique talents. Over 500 students from across the division participated in the week whether it was engaging in an outdoor clay workshop, drawing a mural on the courtyard with colorful chalk, or preparing for the art show.

Throughout the week, there were multiple collaborations among disparate subjects in each of the buildings. The elementary students focused on the intersections of maths and arts by using radial symmetry and tessellations. This interdisciplinary approach to learning interested numerous students because of the creativity that was involved.

“After discussing ways things that art and math have in common, students learned how beautiful math can be,” elementary art teacher Mrs. Bycraft said.

There were also other activities that were a combination of subjects. In physics, students created a kinetic sculpture wherein they applied concepts of simple harmonic motion in creating a pendulum.

SoVin Park (Grade 11), a student who takes AP Physics, revealed that she “learned about the chaotic motion because it is not something covered in class. I enjoyed making graphs by tracking motion. Even though the graph took a long time to make, it was totally worth it because the final graph really displayed the chaotic motion as it should be.”

On Tuesday April 11th, the Inspiration Art Exhibit Reception, a collection of artwork created by students from  Pre- Kindergarten to Grade 12, was featured for staff, visitors, families, and students. Whether the art was created in 3D or 2D, the artwork reflected the objects or people that served as inspiration.  While some were inspired by the news or media, others used this as an opportunity to self-reflect and empathize with one another.

“Inspired by a documentary about animal cruelty and abuse taking place in Korea’s dog factories,” Stella Park (Grade 10) created both rhino and human ribs from clay in order “to show how humans trap the animals and limit their chances of survival.”

A 6th grade student who took part in the art show created a piece called “My Mistake” in order to show others the fretful things in life like climbing trees.

Likewise, Cathy Kim (Grade 11) used styrofoam and other materials to create a 3D model of a hermit crab. She claimed that the hermit crab best represented her, as it had the “duality between shyness and flamboyance.” Furthermore, Kim maintained that her personality really “came through in the sculpture.”  

While the interdisciplinary activities throughout the week enabled students to use their learning across different courses, the Inspiration Art Exhibit provided an opportunity for the students to reflect on their lives, motivations, and inspirations further uniting the KIS community.