Four local teens collected more than 650 pieces of ocean-themed artwork from neighbors, tourists, and online contributors as far away as Paris, then assembled them into a 60-foot mural along the waterfront fences at Rye Town Park on Monday, June 8, World Ocean Day.

The collective behind the project, NextCanvas, was co-founded last summer by Rye High School sophomores Coco Wang and Cici Wang, RHS senior Thomas Chen, and Greenwich Academy senior Elaine Cheng. Each brings a different discipline: Coco Wang and Chen focus on visual arts, Cheng has a background in ballet and visual arts, and Cici Wang creates digital music.

The World Ocean Day initiative ran Wednesday, June 3 through Sunday, June 7, with the mural installation capping the effort on June 8. Community members stopped by the Rye Y on June 3 to draw ocean creatures, write poems, and sketch waves on shared canvases. On Saturday, June 6, the founders set up at Edith G. Read Sanctuary and Rye Town Park. The next day they laid out a 20-foot canvas at Heckscher Playground Lawns near the entrance to Central Park in Manhattan, where dozens of tourists and park visitors added their own work.

The result: a 60-foot mural stitched from all three locations.

"Seeing all of the artwork together transformed what had started as separate activities into one collective piece created by the community," Coco Wang told the Rye Record.

NextCanvas also opened an online submission portal themed "Let Art Speak for the Ocean," which drew entries from participants in Paris and elsewhere.

The four founders say they plan to run NextCanvas throughout the rest of their high school years and then hand it off to younger artists, building a mentorship pipeline. Coco Wang told the Rye Record the goal is for students who receive support now to later give back as alumni, mentors, or professionals.

NextCanvas is seeking donations, partnerships, and collaborations. More information is available at nextcanvas.org.