By Annalise Knudson
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High school students at Michael J. Petrides School collaborated with Rab’s Country Lanes to create a gallery of original artworks on display in the bowling alley in Dongan Hills.

“Anything I have drawn, it never had a right place to go, this drawing found one,” said Austin Ngan, and 11th-grade student.

Through paint, mixed media, and illustration, students reimagined bowling balls as planets, pins as constellations, lanes as galaxies, and the act of rolling as a journey through space and time. The works explored themes of gravity and freedom, impact and motion, and the balance between being grounded and dreaming beyond.

“My main inspiration was the many diverse shows I watched when I was younger,” said Jasmin Machado, an 11th-grade student. “My goal was to relate to the audience through cartoons they may have seen as well.”

This partnership highlighted how art can bridge school, community, and industry — allowing students to see their creativity displayed in a real-world setting. Austin Ngan, also an 11th-grade student, stated that anything he has ever drawn never had a “right place to go,” until now.

“While drawing this, lots of ideas flowed through very quickly,” said 10th-grader Jason Zheng. ”Endless ideas fueled our cosmic bowling drawing. It is very special to have my art on display.”

As visitors move through the display, they can see how each student interpreted motion, space, and self in the spirit of cosmic bowling.

“As I drew my art, I thought about the emotion conveyed to viewers,” said Aida Ali, an 11th-grader. ”I wanted people to feel happy and think about bowling with comfort, so I made sure to make it pop out with colors and fun.”