Inspired by the hit EDM artist of summers past, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) channeled Charli XCX in their Homecoming hallway decorations, selecting XCX’s hit song 360 for the theme in their quest to win first place for the second year in a row. Practically picturing their artistic visions with lime green-tinted glasses, artists alike met in Mr. Jesús Ramirez’s room on Tuesday, Sept. 2, gathering scraps of green and black construction paper, markers, and paints as they prepared to execute their ideas for this year’s hallway decorations.

While deciding on the possible artist to bring NAHS to victory in the hallway decorations contest, officers proposed multiple candidates, including Gorillaz, Sabrina Carpenter, Laufey, and Taylor Swift. Due to the high popularity of these artists, though, NAHS decided on a slightly different approach, seizing the opportunity to choose XCX — a unique and well-known singer-songwriter they believed would stand out from other clubs.

“When we were having our officer meeting a couple weeks ago, we wanted to do an artist that was unique but also well-known,” Vice President Swasthiya Mahesh ‘27 said. “That’s why we chose Charli XCX and her album brat, because that album was very iconic of hers. I want to incorporate a lot of her 2000s elements because I feel like brat has lots of early 2000s throwbacks. We’re trying to include flip phones, those alien glasses she wears, vinyl records and especially neon green in a collage style to really capture her aesthetic.”

Inspired by the fast-paced work ethic of the club activity, new NAHS artists joined in on the hard-working atmosphere, driving the project further into fruition.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I joined this club at first,” Aiya Ahmed ‘29 said. “It was really cool to see that [the members] had this very deep work process, and I was very into it. Myself as an artist, I also go into these deep work processes with blaring music in the background and getting in the zone. It’s really fun to see everyone just doing it together and having all kinds of conversations.”

Gathered in the classroom, this event was an opportunity for new members to get a taste of NAHS’ typical activities. Across from the construction paper cutting station, for example, were the painters, concentrated and hard at work to paint a realistic picture of XCX, the star of the theme.

“I’m painting a large, semi-realistic portrait of Charli XCX with some friends, and we’re going to cut her out and paste her on a large banner with her song titles to the side of her,” Sahana Suryanarayan ‘26 said. “[Homecoming hallway decorating] is another high-stakes event where we have to win. [Mr. Ramirez] has already given us a pep talk about how we’re going to win.”

The genuine conversations, artistic dedication, and creative development during the lime green project have left many freshmen wanting to continue exploring the creative opportunities NAHS offers to its young artists.

“I’m definitely excited to keep working on projects like these and continue working with NAHS because everybody’s really laid back but also working together,” Aniya Moin ‘29 said. “It’s like a nice little community of people. Even though some of us are working independently, we’re all also working to make one big thing.”