Students take art to Africa (From Haringey Independent)

Students take art to Africa

10:21am Wednesday 8th October 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share

An after-school arts group is taking students on a journey of self-development with a three-week trip to Tanzania in December.

Kori Arts, which meets at the Mavarian Church Hall, in Priory Road, Crouch End, offers young people aged eight to 17 a chance to express themselves through art.

Its syllabus is tailored to engage young people from African, Caribbean and mixed race backgrounds, with sessions ranging from animation and African martial arts to woodwork and textile design, as well as drama, music and dance.

But it is the group’s ethos of nurturing young people to become thoughtful citizens which has led 13 of its 40 members to visit the East African country. They will teach a two-week arts course at Maji Matitu School in Dar-es-Salaam, which provides education to young people living on the streets.

Odiri Ighamre, who founded Kori Arts in 2002, says the trip, which is part of the Youth Empowering programme, will allow students to reflect on their own lives and develop a sense of social responsibility.

She said: “This group is about more than art. It is about supporting the development from a student into a leader or mentor. The students who come here leave equipped with the right skills so they can, in turn, start their own projects.”

Lydia Newman, 21, is a former pupil of Highgate Wood School, in Montenotte Road, Crouch End, who recently graduated in drama at Queen Mary’s College, University of London. She started attending Kori aged 15 and loved the experience so much she stayed on as a mentor to younger pupils.

She said: “I’m so excited about Tanzania — it’s starting to feel real now. I have done some research but I want to go with an open mind. You hear a lot of myths about life in Africa so I can’t wait to see it for myself and gain my own understanding.

“This is a chance for me to give young people in Tanzania an opportunity to try things they don’t have access to, but I know I will also take away something valuable from it.”

The interactive arts programme will cover visual arts, drama, music production and singing, alongside sports science, basketball and football training.

Students raised funds for the trip through a series of events, including a sponsored walk from Camden to Limehouse, a poetry night and May Day festival.

They also won sponsorship from Ashridge Business School, in Berkhamsted, which donated £1,000 to each of the six mentors embarking on the trip.

When they return, they will share their experience at the Festival of Youth Arts, held at venues across London, and at their schools, colleges and universities.

• Print
• Email
• Share