Boston Latin School senior Yuxuan (Lucy) Zhang is widely involved in the community with her creative projects. At Boston Latin School, Zhang started Galleries for Change, a club that focuses on turning trash from around the building into art for all to enjoy. The club gathers items like water bottles, newspapers and past articles from The Register to create their pieces, in hopes of increasing awareness for the environment while also beautifying the school.
BLS Foundations of Visual Arts teacher Mr. Stephen Harris and her former co-president Hannah Yu have contributed greatly to the cause alongside Zhang. Galleries for Change currently has two pieces on display in the library. One is called Carbon Pawprint, and the other, which was recently completed, is titled High Flood.
The inspiration for her service initiative was fueled by Zhang’s grandmother folding old newspapers into little trash baskets for the dining table. Zhang used to assist her grandmother by collecting popsicle wrappers to form doorway curtains.
Zhang spends most of her weekends working on her personal art projects. Her favorite mediums include colored pencils and watercolor. The art she creates is often focused on everyday scenery, an example being a fish at a market.
When speaking about submitting her art at the Scholastic Art & Writing competition, Zhang says, “[I]t’s really amazing to see my artwork being recognized by artists around the state and being able to display my artwork with fellow artists who are really passionate and really talented as well.”
Beyond visual arts, Zhang has many other talents and interests. She participated in science fair for many years and is now participating in Senior Capstone. In her Capstone project, she studies air pollution by the Neponset River and how that affects residents near it.
Across her various skills and points of interest, one thing that consistently guides Zhang is an emphasis on community and friendship. Making friends with unique passions and interests has been one of Zhang’s favorite things about her time at BLS. The community and network she built is one of things that will continue to impact Zhang after graduation and on her future endeavors.