St George Secondary School’s visual arts students have transformed the Drax Hall Pavilion in St George with a colourful community mural, creating what organisers said would be a lasting symbol of collaboration, community pride and youth empowerment.
The artwork, unveiled on Wednesday at Drax Hall Pavilion, forms part of the school’s 2026 Spirit of the Lion programme and serves as its community legacy project for the year. It was completed by members of the school’s Visual Arts Department under the guidance of teacher Ryan Mathurin.
Director of the National Sports Council, Neil Murrell, described the unveiling as “a special occasion” and “a historic occasion for the St George Secondary School,” noting that the project demonstrated the impact schools can have beyond the classroom.
“The painting of this mural forms a part of the 2026 Spirit of the Lions programme at the school and it’s the school’s community legacy project for this year,” he said.
Commending the initiative, he added that the school had taken the lead in an outreach effort that benefited the wider community.
“We recognise St George Secondary School for leading the community outreach initiative that brought this particular project and this pavilion to life. Schools and community working together in a project such as this provide meaningful and lasting change.”
Murrell also praised visual arts teacher Ryan Mathurin for his leadership and the students for their creativity.
“Today we celebrate the talented artists, art students of the St George Secondary School who use their creativity, their hard work, and their passion to create this breathtaking work of art.”
He stressed that the mural represented much more than artistic expression:
“It is not just a painting. It’s a symbol of community pride. It’s a symbol of collaboration and a symbol of the talents of the young people that we have in Barbados.”
According to Murrell, the enhanced pavilion is expected to become a more welcoming space for residents:
“We want to encourage the residents in the community to use this community space more frequently for gatherings, for recreation, and for connection. It is hoped that this initiative will inspire other schools and community groups to further pursue collaborative projects together.”
Mathurin explained that his department was invited to undertake the project as part of the school’s Spirit of the Lion celebrations, with the design reflecting both the history and identity of the parish.
“This mural was inspired by the many activities that occur in St George as well as the history of St George itself.”
He said the artwork intentionally highlighted key aspects of the parish.
“What we would have tried to incorporate would have been the design that was given to us, which is agriculture, sports, and also would have the fruits and vegetables that are abundant in this parish as well.”
Mathurin noted that the colour palette was equally deliberate.
“We have tried to use colors that were bright, vibrant, and represented the growth in the parish as well.”
He credited the students for playing a significant role in bringing the mural to completion.
“I may have done a lot of work on it, but I realised that the students did a very big part of it as well, and they would have really, really pushed within those last three days to have that mural completed.”
Student artists present for the unveiling included Derelio Kelly, Syniah Hinkson, Nyarah Griffith, Zoë Goodman and Jazmine Cox, while the project also involved Jai Haynes, Aaliyah Lewis, Juliana Archer, Tanisha Cumberbatch and Gail Lovell.
The project took approximately two weeks to finish and was completed on June 19. This was the third major mural completed by the department over the past two years, following previous works at the school’s sports pavilion and Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle.
Organisers said the mural represents far more than paint on a wall, describing it as “a lasting symbol of what we can achieve when community, education, and service come together with a shared vision.”
They added that the partnership between the Community Independence Celebrations Secretariat and St George Secondary School honours the heritage of Drax Hall while encouraging future generations to take pride in and care for their community.
(LE)
The post St George Secondary students leave mark on Drax Hall with community mural appeared first on Barbados Today.
