Island H2O Water Park in Kissimmee, named the No. 6 Best Outdoor Water Park in the country in USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice 2021, unveiled 4 new murals designed and painted by Osceola County students from Tohopekaliga High School’s Digital Design and AP ART programs. Student artists, family, school staff, and members of the Osceola School District attended the official in-person unveiling of this youth-created work.
Island H2O’s idea was to create a space for the students to showcase their talents with an interactive mural aligned to the social media theme of the park. The students were briefed to design selfie murals that would encourage guests to engage with the images, take photos and share on social media. Tohopekaliga High School launched the TKHS Graphic Design Agency this year which is a collaboration between the Digital Design Program (Valencia Graphic Design) instructed by Jenny Mohess and the AP Art Program instructed by Jackelyn Adkins. The concept behind the agency was to collaborate and show their students how the entire creative process works from start to finish. The students are also learning how to collaborate with each other and work as a team.
Concepts were designed by the students and presented to park leadership. Specific murals were selected based on their alignment with the Park’s theming and original brief. The designers of the chosen artwork will receive Island H2O Water Park Season Passes and students in the participating classes will receive 2 water park tickets each. “We’re excited to provide a canvas to showcase these incredible local students’ designs,” stated Jim Kunau, General Manager of Island H2O Water Park. “The TKHS Graphic Design Agency process was great and emphasized the importance of work and process to bring students closer to making their dreams a reality. We look forward to seeing park guests share pictures of themselves emerged in these artistic creations.”
Park guests can take their photos with the new murals on weekends through November plus the week of Thanksgiving before the park closes for the season on November 28th, 2022