Interfaith Student Art Exhibit Celebrates Spiritual Diversity, Connections

A new student art exhibit in the Interfaith Center on campus highlights the diversity and cooperation of spiritual beliefs throughout the NMH community.

The Interfaith Center Student Art Exhibit, which opened May 9, features student artwork centered on the themes of religious and spiritual diversity. The show includes original work by Bonnie He ’27, Michelle Tang ’26, Fiona Chen ’28 and Arabella Chong ’27, with styles ranging from paintings and drawings to photography.

The exhibit was curated from submissions to the semester-long Interfaith Center Art Contest by the Interfaith Leaders, who work to honor the diversity of spiritual beliefs on campus and promote interfaith dialogue. The winning pieces will remain on display in the second floor of Blake Hall through the end of the school year.

“These pieces offer especially thoughtful interpretations of the contest’s themes,” said Grace Huang ’26, a member of the Interfaith Leaders and co-organizer of the exhibit.

Artist Bonnie He said she was excited to be part of the exhibit and appreciated the opportunity to showcase student artwork outside the Rhodes Arts Center. Her piece, titled “Lockdown Drill Inside a Closet,” was inspired by the unexpected friendships she developed during a simulated lockdown drill with classmates last year.

“You’ll find peace sometimes in the worst possible scenarios,” He said. “Through a situation like this, where we imagined what it's like being in lockdown, we found peace through friendship. Something scary was not so scary anymore. It was a very rare bonding experience for me, and I wanted to keep it as a sort of memoir through art.”

The piece, created with colored pencil, recently won first place in the 2025 Congressional Art Competition for the Sixth District of New York. He will travel to Washington, D.C., on June 11 to take part in a celebration ceremony. Her work will remain on display in the U.S. Capitol for the next year.

He said the artwork reflects her artistic growth since arriving at NMH and the strong sense of community she has found here.

“I used to struggle with social groups and never believed that I would be included in a friend group,” He said, “Coming to NMH, I never expected to immediately bond with people from so many different places — and in such a weird situation. To win an award about my own new friendship made me become so hopeful for the future.

“It also wasn’t until I came to the U.S. that I started using colored pencil and what I would consider more ‘Western’ art mediums,” she continued. “I feel like this art — the story itself is something, but how I created it is something else: a sort of cultural exchange as well.”

That sense of cross-cultural connection is exactly what the Interfaith Leaders hoped to highlight with the exhibit, Huang said.

“Art helps us visualize different spiritual traditions, promote interfaith dialogue and deepen understanding of different cultures in the NMH community,” said Huang.

For her part, He said she hopes the Interfaith Center Art Exhibit will lead to more opportunities for student artists to share their work across campus.

“I’ve been trying to find ways throughout the school year to help promote art on campus,” she said. “Having an opportunity like the Interfaith Art Exhibit — it made me really happy that artists get another chance to express their stories publicly.”

Photos by Aurora Song '26.