I participated in the 2024 SEASAC Arts as an IB Visual Arts student representing RIS. Eight of us, including two teachers, participated in workshops at Mon’t Kiara International School in Kuala Lumpur. We met students of different nationalities and cultures and collaborated and worked in different sections of workshop sessions. This was the first SEASAC I’ve participated in, and I was very excited to go abroad with other students.

One memorable moment I had was during the plein air sketching session, where the participants, myself included, started drawing each other voluntarily. I sketched three other students who appreciated my work, and we became friends. Meeting diverse people who unite under an interest in art inspired me to build more passion for making art. I remember watching a group of students dancing on the last day of the event, who danced to the indigenous music of Malaysia. This was unique, as many performing arts students and dancers tend to dance to pop music, which is more mainstream. It was certainly refreshing to see them dance to unique music, not just what we are used to. 

Another memorable friend was a Korean boy who was raised in Malaysia. His parents are both migrants, and I’ve heard that his family doesn’t speak the Korean language much despite their nationality. This made me wonder about self-identity, which seems like your surroundings and the people around you highly influence it. I also questioned my self-identity as a foreigner exposed to diverse cultures in an international setting. This series of interactions with new people inspired me to ask new things, and seeing artists my age inspired me to make more good art.