Beacon School Creates Matisse-Inspired Mosaic Mural

Beacon School Creates Matisse-Inspired Mosaic Mural

Lena Dajani (Art Reach Bahrain) & Manuella Makhlouf (Art Teacher, Beacon Private School) share how Beacon Private School students created a legacy mural as a gift for future generations to inspire and celebrate the spirit of creative collaboration.

It started out as a suggestion to beautify an area of the school, which took off and grew exponentially into something so much more. The idea was to create a space of tranquility where learners and teachers could get away to take a few deep breaths and practice mindfulness, a cornerstone of BPS philosophy to support students’ well-being.

The mural was a collaborative effort between Art Reach Bahrain, the learners (Grades 6-10), parents & teachers.

The learners were challenged! But by persevering they:

- Acquired new technical skills in the art of mosaic-making

- Acquired soft skills to work as a team and how through a joint effort, can collectively improve their school environment

- Learned about Henri Matisse, a 19th century French artist who valued and captured nature in his unique way using paper cut-outs.

Art history crosses time, space, and cultures and BPS continues to learn from Matisse’s mastery of color and design.

Meeting for in-person workshops after school was necessary to replace students’ screen time with social