The mere idea of a club dedicated to exploring various cultures through art and interactive activities began as a spark (or thought) in Senior Zenya Sharief’s mind but it successfully sprang to life with the launch of the Cultural Creations Club
“I decided to start this club because I’m really interested in cultures and I just thought maybe other people would be interested too,” said Sharief.
As it turned out, more than a dozen students resonated with this idea, and the first club meeting had over 15 people in attendance. We asked some of the club members what intrigued them about the club specifically, and Ava Banning(12) had no hesitation about why she joined.
“I knew there was a club that did fashion, but there was never really a club like this that combined art and culture, and I thought it was a really interesting club to try and do,” Banning said. “It also seemed like a really great way to learn about different countries while incorporating a more creative aspect into it rather than something that seemed more like a lecture.”
Louisa Farinella (12), however, chose to join the club for slightly different reasons. Farinella sat with her friends to color a masquerade mask during the first meeting, a common accessory worn during carnivals in Italy, the topic country of this meeting.
“I joined this club because I have a lot of friends in it and also because I’m really interested in culture and art,” Farinella explained.
Sharief said she has high hopes and big plans for what is coming up next. Next month the club will discuss Japan, and Sharief planned on sharing the art on social media. “I hope to increase the amount of knowledge people have about different countries and just be more open-minded even if it’s just random fun facts, it’s just cool to know that type of stuff,” Sharief said. “I also plan to post what people make on Instagram and show off what everybody makes.”
According to the US News and World Report, LHS has a student population of 81% of people being Caucasian, which we hope inspired members of this club to increase diversity awareness.
“I think the club is going to boost creativity and allow us to teach ourselves in a way students may not be able to do with teachers, with them it’s more like facts, but with this club, we can explore the culture and the nation on our own but in a way that’s also collaborative and allows us to expand how we think, how we create, just a bunch of different things,” Banning said.
Creativity flows throughout many young minds and art can be a surrogate to express what one is thinking and feeling, and this club aims to help members expand their creativity while also learning.
“Being creative with your friends is always a fun thing to do, and learning shouldn’t be a burden, you can still do it while doing something you enjoy,” Sharief said.