Fine Arts
From the Curator’s Gallery
A Breakthrough Year in Art: Creativity Without Limits
This year has truly been a breakthrough for our high school art program—a year filled with energy, ambition, and incredible opportunities for our students to grow, create, and connect.
Our students stepped onto the international stage with high-profile exhibitions at Art021 and the Powerlong Museum, showcasing their work alongside some of the most exciting contemporary art platforms.
They also had the opportunity to learn from leading artists, including renowned graffiti artist Kool Koor and ceramicist Vivien Lightfoot, gaining insights directly from professionals at the top of their fields.
Collaboration and community were at the heart of this year. Students led the design of the APAC Art Magazine and brought schools together through an Art Festival, building connections across international art communities.
Beyond school, they engaged meaningfully with local communities—working with Evergreen Senior Home through paper-cutting workshops and creating a vibrant neighborhood mural with the Women’s Justice Club.
Our students also explored real-world creative industries by collaborating with professional designers through Bicester Fashion House, developing graphic design products for a commercial market.
Current established clubs and the launch of new clubs—including CMYK, Art History Club, and Artivism Club—has brought even more energy and opportunity, creating spaces for students to lead, explore, and express.
Alongside these collective experiences, many students pursued inspiring personal projects: exhibiting in the INspoArt, contributing artwork to Shanghai Climate Week initiatives, leading art activities at Fudan Hospital, and collaborating with traditional Guizhou artisans, to name just a few.
This has been a year of bold ideas, meaningful connections, and creative courage—and we’re only just getting started.
With gratitude,
Ms. Ivy Wong, IB and Visual Arts Teacher
Visiting Artist: Kool Koor
For three weeks, the Shanghai American School community welcomed internationally recognized graffiti artist Kool Koor as its Artist in Residence. Known for his futuristic, abstract visual language, Kool Koor led workshops for Elementary, Middle, and High School divisions, encouraging students to explore movement, shape, and intuition rather than striving for perfection. Through quiet reflection and large-scale painting exercises with thick brush strokes, students embraced experimentation, discovering that creativity is as much about process as it is about the finished work.
The residency culminated in SAS's annual arts festival, where students from several international schools collaborated on murals and shared creative ideas through hands-on workshops. Beyond introducing new techniques, Kool Koor offered students a glimpse into the discipline and mindset of a professional artist, leaving behind a lasting reminder that artistic growth begins with curiosity, confidence, and a willingness to trust the creative process.
IB Art Exhibit Opening
IB Visual Arts challenges students to think as both artists and researchers, developing technical skill alongside a personal artistic voice. Throughout the two-year course, students experiment across a wide range of disciplines—including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, digital media, and mixed media—while exploring how artists from different cultures, histories, and movements communicate ideas. Through investigation and reflection, students learn to connect their own practice with the broader world of art.
At SAS Puxi, the IB Visual Arts journey culminates in an exhibition that showcases each student's artistic growth and individual perspective. More than a display of finished pieces, the exhibition represents years of experimentation, critical inquiry, and creative risk-taking, inviting viewers to experience the stories, questions, and ideas that have shaped each artist's work.
Bicester Village Design Challenge
This year, SAS artists took part in the Bicester Village Design Challenge, creating original wrapping paper designs inspired by the collaboration between The Bicester Collection and Unlock Her Future, a global initiative supporting women social entrepreneurs. Drawing on themes of creativity, nature, and the project's magnolia motif, students responded to a professional design brief while developing their own visual interpretations.
The top ten designs were printed on Bicester wrapping paper and were part of a bouquet of flowers as part of the award. The winning students were also invited to attend Shanghai Fashion Week and received the opportunity to visit Fotografiska as part of the collaboration. The project offered students a unique opportunity to apply their creativity beyond the classroom while gaining insight into the world of professional design.
