By Zoe Loizeaux
Four teens from Rye recently hosted an art-based community event that attracted hundreds of participants, spanned locations from the Rye Y, Rye Town Park, and New York City, and raised awareness for World Ocean Day and sustainability.
Starting on June 3, the group, NextCanvas, set up shop at the Rye Y, where community members were invited to make ocean-themed art. By the event’s end, poems, drawings of ocean creatures and waves, and words about protecting the ocean covered the large canvas.
On June 6, the founders set up another community canvas at Edith G. Read Sanctuary and Rye Town Park. Students, children, and families were encouraged to sign their names on the canvas or share their creativity “for a cause that connects us all,” said the group’s Instagram post from the event.
Finally, on June 7, the team set up shop at the Heckscher Playground Lawns, the entrance of Central Park.
Dozens flooded the art table in Manhattan. The team laid out a 20-foot-long canvas, encouraging tourists and others in the park to stop and add their own art.
“So many faces. So many drawings. So much creativity,” said the group’s Instagram page.
By the end of the week, they had over 650 pieces, many featured on the NextCanvas Instagram account.
NextCanvas was started last summer by RHS sophomore Coco Wang, RHS senior Thomas Chen, RHS sophomore Cici Wang, and Greenwich Academy senior Elaine Cheng.
Focusing mostly on the visual arts, the group works to “create a platform where young artists can connect, share their artwork, find support, and feel encouraged,” said Wang.
Each co-founder has a background in art: Chen and Coco Wang focus on the visual arts, Cheng has experience in performing arts (ballet) and visual arts, and Cici Wang creates digital music. Together, the four are building a platform where creativity is encouraged, and where, they say, “no young artist stands alone.”
With World Ocean Day approaching, the co-founders centered the events around sustainability. They opened up an online art submission portal with the theme “Let Art Speak for the Ocean,” which drew participants from as far away as Paris.
According to Coco Wang, the most meaningful moment came at Rye Town Park when a mural was assembled along the waterfront fences on June 8, the day after the art initiative had ended. The 60-foot mural used pieces created across all project locations.
“Seeing all of the artwork together transformed what had started as separate activities into one collective piece created by the community,” Coco Wang said.
The NextCanvas team members plan to develop the group throughout the rest of their time in high school and they hope the group can be passed down to younger artists once they graduate. Their goal is to build a long-term art community, where “students who receive support now can later give back as alumni, mentors, or professionals,” Coco Wang said. “If NextCanvas can help young artists feel seen, supported, and connected, then that would be our biggest success.”
The four students continue to look for donations, partnerships, and collaborations. Visit nextcanvas.org for more information.
