Last Sunday March 19 2023 at work,
We held an art exhibition!
This art exhibition would be named “Art for Health”.
It was held right in the vicinity (Kagugube Community Hall found in Makerere Kivulu) of its intended beneficiaries.
(Please pardon me for going all non-profit on you there….)
By my rough memory,
Oscar and Emma, my very awesome colleagues have been meeting with these young people (the intended beneficiaries of the project) since December 2022!
That’s Oscar for you, in the centre of the discussion!
I had always wanted to be a part of these numerous interactions that led up to the exhibition but I completely failed at that.
Being at the exhibition was the chance I got!
That’s Emma for you in the centre of the discussion.
From the photos I got to see,
There was always an interaction with these young people and us, which always ended in expression on canvas in form of art and painted.
Remember, art is something that takes a while to create and fully appreciate.
We had to be very patient with one another; the young people had so much to get off their chests (something you can see in their drawings) and we had some parameters to check off the list of deliverables from our funding partner, UNDP Uganda.
“Visual arts for psycho-social support” was the tagline of the entire project.
Now, if you have been keeping a close ear on the funding for non-profits these days, you realise it’s bending so much to the end of creative arts and mental health!
At work, we are really good with the creative arts and when it comes to mental health, you know there isn’t anyone really good at that.
We all just do what we have to do or our very best at the time and look forward to tomorrow, right?
And that’s where a psychologist was brought in, to assess and evaluate the various needs of everyone on the project.
When it came to the creative arts,
We got the brushes, paints and canvas ready for the young people to express themselves as far as how they view life.
You realise the works of art you see here open your mind to numerous themes in life ranging from care work, dreams and plans, police brutality, drug abuse, wealth, school, sports, music, love, housing, education, climate change, identity among others.
In due time,
We hoped to change their minds from a hyper-vigilant one to a more conscious one through art.
How do we mean?
Those that started drawing out graphic scenes or violent life situations would end up drawing more inspirational material that anyone could look up to and pick a leaf.
And therefore, reduce the likelihood of these young ones landing into the holding cell of the police!
Will our efforts pay off?
I really hope they do!
It’s “Art for Health”, no?!
I am so rooting for these young people to make something for themselves (some of them have already been commissioned for artworks).
Life is already hard for us all.
It batters them much harder!
Point to note: All the photographs you see in this blog post were taken by us at Faces Up Uganda and belong to us.