William Floyd High School students Kurushiga Sathiyaseelen, Jordyn Gandolfo, and Coco Wang were recognized for their artwork at the annual Lunar New Year art show organized by the Asian American Association of Greater Stony Brook and the Town of Brookhaven Native American and Pacific Islander Advisory Board. The exhibition took place from January 10 to February 1 at Brookhaven Town Hall and included works from artists at various grade levels.
The student-artists created pieces themed around the “Year of the Fire Horse,” which is part of the Chinese calendar’s 12-year cycle. This animal symbolizes energy, strength, freedom, and endurance. The Chinese Lunar New Year in 2026 begins on February 17 and ends on February 6, 2027.
Jordyn Gandolfo and Kurushiga Sathiyaseelen received top honors in the grade 10-12 category. Kurushiga’s drawing “Harmonizing with Fire Horse” earned second place, while Jordyn’s piece “The Fire Horse and Hope” was awarded third place. Coco Wang received a special achievement for her work “Fire Bird and the Fire Horse,” marking her second consecutive year featured in this art show.
Theresa Bianco, Fine Arts chairperson at William Floyd School District, said: “We are honored, once again, to be selected as part of this wonderful celebration and for the acknowledgement of our own talented artists every year.” She added that an organization member viewing the pieces commented on the talent of William Floyd student-artists and how inspired she was after viewing their artwork.
A closing celebration and award ceremony was held at Brookhaven Town Hall on February 2. During this event, students experienced performances highlighting Asian culture through dance, singing, and storytelling in traditional dress.
Kurushiga Sathiyaseelen described her drawing as depicting "the fire horse, lanterns and the Chinese Taoism symbol representing harmonizing with the natural flow of the universe." She used yellow to represent good fortune in 2026.
Jordyn Gandolfo explained that her work represents "freedom, strength, power and nobility," with cherry blossoms symbolizing gracefulness and hope. She noted that "the soft pastel contrasts the bright colors," aiming to emulate both fierceness and non-threatening qualities.
Coco Wang wrote about her piece: "In literal meanings, fire birds like Zhuque represent the summer, but it also embodies the four constellations in Chinese mythology. Depicted as a pheasant, it’s associated with rebirth and power. Zhuque mixes well with the fire horse because it represents speed, success, prosperity and power. Both animals symbolize the power of fire and vitality."
The William Floyd School District serves more than 9,400 students across ten schools offering education from kindergarten through twelfth grade according to its official website. The district has been recognized for its music program among top communities for music education as well as accolades for its business department according to its official website. It fosters collaboration among students, parents, educators, staff members and community partners to support student development across intellectual, emotional, aesthetic and physical areas according to its official website.