Hello, I'm an artist and an art educator based in London. I'm the founder and Co-director of Hands On Art Workshops, an art educational initiative that I run with fellow Co-director Stephanie Nebbia for students in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement, Kenya with support from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Located in northwestern Kenya, the Kakuma Municipality encompasses the refugee-hosting areas of Kakuma and Kalobeyei (formerly known as Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement). Established in 1992, it now hosts over 305,000 refugees and asylum seekers from more than twenty different countries. Of this population, 163,726 are children under the age of eighteen, over 106,000 of them are enrolled in primary and secondary schools. Education is supported through fiftyfive UNHCR-backed schools, which serve both refugee and host community students.

Hands On Art Workshops is not a registered charity, it is an art educational initiative funded through donor support and Stephanie's and my artistic networks. This year marks our 10th anniversary! I’ve set up this JustGiving page so that more students growing up in Kakuma and Kalobeyei can take part in and benefit from the Hands On Art Workshops programme. I'm very grateful for everyone who has generously supported Hands On Art Workshops over the years - your donations have had huge impact! For people new to the programme, your donations will enable the delivery of Hands On Art Workshop for the next five years, by:

* funding the Hands On Gateway Bursary, which provides salaries for young artists who are high school graduates from Kakuma Refugee Camp in the role of Hands On Art Coach. The Coaches independently deliver the Hands On Art Workshops programme in 11 school Art Clubs and 2 community learning centres across Kakuma and Kalobeyei Settlement under guidance and support from Stephanie and me.

* funding the upkeep of the Hands On m2 Gallery in Kakuma - the gallery is a non-profit, non-commercial art educational project designed to showcase the artwork created by participants in the Hands On Art Workshops programme across Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement

* funding the Hands On Art Workshops Scholarships programme, offering an annual scholarship to cover full secondary school tuition for a female Hands On student in Kakuma, in support of education for girls

* funding the annual Hands On Coach Cultural Research trip, enabling the Hands On Coaches based in Kakuma to travel to Nairobi for a 5-day visit to art galleries and museums, and connect with local artists and curators

About Hands On Art Workshops

Hands On Art Workshops offers a range of art educational programmes for primary and secondary school students in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, including practical art workshops delivered through video conference, mobile phone messaging and in person visits by me and my Co-director Stephanie Nebbia, alongside workshops delivered by local artists who act as Coaches.

In 2024 Hands On launched the Hands On m2 Gallery in Kakuma, designed to showcase the artwork by Hands On participants in school Art Clubs and a community learning centre across Kakuma and Kalobeyei.

The aim of Hands On Art Workshops is to support and encourage creative and imaginative thinking, engagement and exchange globally and intergenerationally between artists and students. The workshops are grounded in my own practice, and actually grew out of my drawing workshop, “Everyday Objects”, that I developed for art students based on my approach to still life painting.

All Hands On Art Workshops are devised by artists, and based on the artist’s practice. Hands On students can develop their creative skills through drawing, painting, performance, object-making, writing, and aspects of design.

Colart supports the delivery of Hands On Art Workshops with generous donations of art materials.

Hands On also offers an annual scholarship that covers full secondary school tuition for a female primary school leaver in support of education for girls.

Hands On Art Workshops works in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Windle International Kenya, Colart, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, Book Aid International, Finn Church Aid and Vodafone Foundation.

Photos: (1) Self-portraits from the "Group Portrait 2024" workshop and inaugural exhibition of the Hands On m2 Gallery, Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, August 2024; (2) "Painted Sound" workshop, 2023. Participants created paintings based on patterns inspired by a pop song that was collectively chosen by the cohort, exploring the relation between sound, music and painting. (3) Hands On m2 Gallery, Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya; (4) Hands On Art Workshops

Photo: Co-director Lisa Milroy

Photo: Co-director Stephanie Nebbia