La Salle student art is going to children in Malaysia.

These pieces are a part of the Memory Project, created by students who are involved in the National Art Honors Society.

The Memory Project strives to promote “intercultural awareness, friendship, and kindness between children around the world through the universal language of art.” Students produce portraits of children all over the world from a photograph they receive, which then gets sent to them, along with a message and photo of the artist.

This is La Salle’s second year participating in the Memory Project, with an average of about 15 NAHS students participating each year. Last year the portraits were sent to Syria.

Ms. Cha Asokan learned about the project when the founder emailed her, and asked if she would be interested. She is sending the pieces off on Thursday, Feb. 20.

This art project is very popular among students. “My students love it,” Ms. Cha said. “I think it’s about connecting through art and creating something for someone else. The recipients love it too.  And it inspires many of them to become artists and lights a passion for drawing.”

For junior Maggie Dougherty participating in the project has had a significant impact.

“It’s a little cheesy, but it means so much to know that the thing I drew will go all the way to an actual person, someone who deserves the world but is in a much less fortunate circumstance than I am,” Dougherty said. “I hope it inspires him to see that he is worth so much, and that there are people looking out for him. It makes me feel really satisfied with my art, because I have the inspiration to make it for someone else, rather than just for myself.”

Ms. Cha’s purpose in having students participate in this project is to promote Lasallian actions in correlation with student art projects. 

“I really love to work in [the] community with my art students,” Ms. Cha said. “We try to do a lot of work that gets us into the world and making and creating with the Lasallian spirit of service.”

Students used all different kinds of media to compose the portraits, including graphite, colored pencils, acrylic paint, and gouache. Some students produced two portraits.

Sophomore Natalie Rask focused on the skin tone in her portrait. “I really wanted it to look real and personal,” Rask said. “I’ve never really done a project that would be given to someone, so I wanted it to turn out well.”

After the children receive their portraits, the Memory Project foundation makes a video and sends it back, so students can see their reactions.

Students worked on the project in and outside of school. It was a community project through NAHS, so they received no grade for it, but they did get community service hours for making it.

According to Ms. Cha, “everyone works at different paces,” but on average she said it took two and a half to four hours for each portrait to be completed. 

“I am so proud of all of my students who give their time and love to art, to our program, and the community,” she said.