For many students, math stays in the classroom — but for one Manhattan teenager, it’s become a form of art.
Michael Amama, a Manhattan High School sophomore, recently received recognition for creating a digital artwork built entirely with math equations. This piece features animation, music and even a poem.
Michael was named one of just 80 featured artists, and one of 20 in his age group, in the Desmos Math Art Contest. The 2025 competition received more than 10,000 submissions from artists ages 13 and up across over 100 countries.
“I wanted to show that even though math can not be a very fun subject for many people, it can still be beautiful,” Amama said.
The project took about six hours to complete and relied on techniques Amama had already practiced.
Amama’s interest in math, science and technology began at a young age. His mother, Ayumi Amama, said the Desmos contest is just one example of his self-driven creativity.
She said Amama often builds themed projects. During the pandemic, he taught himself algorithms, video production and coding, later publishing music on Spotify and creating a Youtube channel.
He also teaches a course for middle school students in teen mentoring programs, helping younger students develop their skills after school.
Amama said the contest allowed him to combine his interests and push himself creatively — and he’s already preparing for next year.