Loading...
Through music, theatre, and visual art, our 2023/24 calendar came to life, infusing OSC’s campus with a vibrant energy seen in several live performances, productions, mini-concerts, and art exhibitions. These events marked a pivotal moment, showcasing the extraordinary talents of our students. Rooted in our School’s mission of compassion, courage, and curiosity, these opportunities empower our young artists to express themselves boldly, take risks with their artistry, explore their passions, and enhance their collective gifts, ultimately refining their creative skills.
Throughout the school year, Primary students showcased their creativity in several pop-up art exhibitions, often tied to their homeroom units of inquiry. For example, Grade 4 students shared artwork inspired by their exploration of Structures, while Grade 3 artists presented pieces connected to The Art of Belief. Grade 5 students delved into Art Activism as part of their PYP Exhibition, creating installations in the theatre that symbolically represented the global issues they investigated.
The entire school came together to host an art exhibition in the beautiful outdoor venue near the coffee shop. From early ceramic creations to advanced DP-level paintings, artists of all ages had the opportunity to showcase their creative talents.
This year, our Grade 2 to Grade 5 students presented the brand-new musical The Island That Rocks!, by Steve Titford. With its irresistibly fun summer atmosphere and a hope-filled vision for the future, The Island That Rocks! was full of wit and contemporary flair. The musical’s captivating storyline resonated with OSC’s culture of unity in diversity, care for the environment, well-being, and balance. Its catchy tunes and modern style not only captivated our students and audience but also inspired them to embrace sustainability and foster camaraderie, drawing parallels with our own little island of Sri Lanka.
The Primary School Music Band is a vibrant community where students learn to play instruments in an ensemble, collaborate with peers, and express themselves through music. This year, the OSC Primary Band continued its growth. Our young musicians matured and shone as they performed their hearts out at many school events, including the final Primary School Assembly in December 2023, the Variety Show in March 2024, and the end-of-year Primary Assembly in June 2024.
Other music, dance, and drama performances throughout the year 2023/24 included:
The exhibition illustrates a student’s journey and artistic growth during their IB Diploma Programme. Each student curates their own cohesive body of artwork selected from work created throughout the course. They provide a written rationale on the curatorial decisions made and an artistic statement for each artwork. Works by our talented artists include acrylic and watercolour paintings, sculptures, pen and ink drawings and mixed media. Our IB Diploma Visual Arts class of 2024 consisted of just a single student. However, this did not deter her from fully immersing herself in the Visual Arts course. The end-of-year visual arts exhibition symbolised a proud conclusion to her two years of creative study and accounted for 40% of her final grade.
During our 3-way conferences, parents, family, and friends had the opportunity to view a wide range of artworks created by our MYP1-5 artists exhibited in the art studio. Works displayed included a collection of colourful abstract still life paintings (MYP4-5), awareness-raising landscape art pieces (MYP2-3), optical illusion and colour theory artworks (MYP2), and t-shirts inspired by Sri Lanka (MYP1).
As part of our SGA Games and Arts day, students had the opportunity to explore different artmaking techniques and ideas with professional local artists. The workshops on offer included urban sketching with Sandeepa Vithanage, experimental watercolour painting with Lilian Boehlke and Ed Thomson, and iPhone/iPad photography with Elise Hanna. Students learnt about these approaches with hands-on activities around the campus, gaining new perspectives on their surroundings and inspiration for art.
This year’s senior production was a cult-classic musical extravaganza that blended dark comedy, science fiction, romance, and catchy tunes to create an unforgettable theatrical experience. Originally created by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, this off-Broadway sensation tells the tale of Seymour, a down-and-out florist who stumbles upon a mysterious, human-eating plant named Audrey II. As Seymour’s ambition for success grows, so does Audrey II’s appetite, leading to a series of hilarious and macabre events. With its unforgettable characters, toe-tapping songs, and a plant with an insatiable craving for blood, Little Shop of Horrors kept audiences laughing, singing along, and on the edge of their seats.
Between Hours was a journey through the mundane yet magical moments that fill our days. As the play delved into the lives of the characters, each chapter unfolded like pages in a storybook, revealing the surprises, struggles, celebrations, and unexpected connections that occur within a single day. In this devised production, the cast brought to life an array of emotions, experiences, and interactions that resonated with the universal themes of friendship, family, school, the working world, growing up, and the passage of time. Accompanied by well-known songs that punctuated the scenes, Between Hours invited the audience to immerse themselves in the rhythm of daily life, where every moment holds the potential for discovery and transformation.
A select group of OSC artists embarked on a cultural and artistic journey to Dhaka, Bangladesh for the annual SAISA Arts Festival. Schools from around the region participated, giving students the chance to make new friends. The SAISA Arts festival focuses on multi-day workshops led by SAISA art teachers from the host or visiting schools or by community or visiting artists. One of the main aims is developing new skills and techniques, exposing our students to other ways of making and thinking about art. Interaction with the art community in the host city is another important part of the event, including visits to local museums, art galleries and cultural sites. The students, Vicky (DP1), Darya (DP1), Sevara (MYP4), Mali (DP1), Amy (DP1), Vasilissa (MYP5), Arlina (MYP4) and Liraya (MYP4), enjoyed a variety of local experiences including sightseeing and a street photography workshop at Gulshan market, viewing historic architecture at the Armenian Church and Star Mosque, a visit to a rickshaw garage to see artists at work, a printmaking workshop at Cosmos Gallery and a tour of the fantastic contemporary art collection at the Durjoy Foundation. There was also ample opportunity for artmaking, with many workshops on offer from local artists.
This year’s ISTA TaPS (Theatre Arts Programme Symposium) was held at Dulwich College, Singapore. OSC’s nine participants were guided through various theoretical and physical activities, and practices via different mediums. They learned about, and performed Thai Khon, explored the world of Clowning, engaged in the theories of Jerzy Grotowski and his Poor Theatre, created scenes from play texts, and manipulated elements of devised work through highly visual and sensory storytelling. These creative processes allowed the students to dig deeper into what it means to be a theatre-maker as well as learn more about the four DP Theatre assessment components. Participants also had the incredible opportunity to work with like-minded theatre enthusiasts from different schools around the Asia region, and OSC is proud that in attending this event and working with theatre professionals, we were able to contribute to the cultural and economic ecology of the city we were visiting.
OSC ISTA participants: Eloise Golding (DP2), Zachary Dean (DP2) Yethmin Nanayakkara (DP1), Jed Bishop (DP1), Alex Conconi (DP1), Dilith Weerasinghe (Grade 10), Naomi Omprasadham (Grade 10), Olau Dahlgaard (Grade 10), Vasilissa Munasinghe (Grade 10).
