In the Heart of Bula Pesa

Artists Walk to Proposed Community Arts Centre: Hoyo's place in Bula Pesa

Sarafina introduces everyone to Korey, a graduate from Tumaini and Piki Piki Taxi driver in Isiolo.

Just in time for a beautiful Sunset...

The team is welcomed into Amina's home. Amina works in the community as a mother carer volunteer for Tumaini, taking care of orphans as a foster parent and guardian.

Amina explains her approach to looking after abandoned children and why she feels Tumaini's work is so much needed in her community which is made up of mostly abandoned women and children living on the edges of poverty and desperation.

 The team assess the site and discuss the possibilities for creating an arts venue that could bring beauty and an option for sharing and creating art

.

Locating myself and my Resources

Artists spent the morning using their own chosen mediums of expression to explore what it means for them being here and what resources they have to offer...

 Hanny considers fabrics and patterns, the plad from the US that is similar to the Masai plad used in Kenya. She stays with the questions of sustainability and visitors appearing and disappearing likes bolts of lightening.

Hanny is fascinated by beads and their source, where they come from and who they are bought by to signify a certain culture

Inspired by the colours of Isiolo, Lionel gets out the spray paint and goes for a splash of "Isiolo style" graffiti on the side of the Early Childhood Development Nursery.

Joel takes a walk out into Isiolo with his camera and takes some shots of things that catch his eye, while he thinks about placing himself in this unfamiliar setting.

Boyd gets involved in recycling old wooden pallets and showing what can be done with available resources and creative thinking.

Collaborating in Pairs

 Artists get their hands stuck in some very sticky clay dug out straight from the Meru marshes as they prepare to work together in pairs

Artists each choose a word they can use as resource from the list from the previous exercise and work together to make one piece of work embodying both concepts.

 Hanny quickly gets stuck in and then regrets it

 Shanil and Pax start off working out how to collaborate with the chicken

 Working in the sand seems to be helping with the stick!

 Gloves are for the faint hearted

 Pax and Shanil produce a dancing WOMAN, half women half man dancing onto of a map of Isiolo

 Boyd and Lionel produce an abstract chaos symbol ontop of a stool shape used for people to pay their heads on while sleeping on the floor.

Hanny & Joel don't allow themselves to be constrained by instructions and instead allow for a call and response to their take on symbols and beads

Feedback on what it took to collaborate successfully

Web of First Impressions

 Artists collaborate on a web of their first impressions from their days at Tumaini and spend some time   expressing some of the things that stood out for them the most...

 A list of what the artists could see in their creation....

 The web built between the four pillars of: Peace, Art, Collaboration & Community

 A grass sculpture built to symbolise the family unity of 3: Grandmother, Mother Carer & Child

 The art is so evident in the way the people dress and wear their clothes

 Pax is overwhelmed by his first impressions of being welcomed by so many different tribes

 Boyd marked tears dripping from the water container representing the constant struggle for survival

 Sarafina clipped money onto the string marking the poignant cost of one day 

 Lionel gets involved in the idea of team work

First Introductory Workshop Session

Artists spent the first session discussing some of the major challenges they face working as artists in their respective countries. All artists shared similar difficulties in producing work that is tangible enough for an audience to grasp while they expressed how hard it is to deal with the different perceptions society has of them and what they do. The common struggle for everyone is still how to make a profitable living from just creating art.

Workshop space in the garden

Artists also discussed how to best make use of technology in a positive way to best benefit the Tumaini Community. Top ideas included uploading positive images and stories about Isiolo to help refine the google search, so Tumaini could be an online resource for promoting peace and development in Isiolo.

Other ideas included pairing artists with individuals from the community,
and having public screenings to show the images back to everyone,
and allowing people to tell their own stories.

Welcome Artitsts for the opening of SBK Collaborative at Tumaini 2014!

WATCH THE ARTISTS WELCOME VIDEO:

https://vimeo.com/86683503

 Tumaini Children welcome their guests with a carnival style display of dancing flowers and leaves...

 Zam Zam shows off her matching hot pink dress and flowers... a happy day for the Tumaini Family.

Sarafina leads the groups in a vibrant welcome performance showcasing the different communities that Tumaini works with.

Turkana Women's group for Peace present a performance about their struggle for peace in their displaced communities.

Khadija & Sarafina Welcome all the artists and introduce them to the colourful community groups eager to know more about visitors from far.

Mama Jangwani gave a moving account of how she and her group of women started their group with the aim of spreading awareness about living with each other in peace. She explained that the women are the workers and home keepers, their work is impossible when they are constantly being forced to run from violence.

Rajab performed a touching song written about a young girl called Leah who died too young from catching HIV while she was still at school. HIV continues to be at the heart of Tumaini and its work still campaigning for the rights and access to treatment for people living with the virus both young and old.

Meru Dancers perform traditional songs with home made instruments made from wood and bottle tops .

Children and women from the neighbouring homes around Tumaini come and enjoy the show!

Tumaini Senior School children perform their winning Sudanese Dance filled with the colours of the sand!

The artists are overwhelmed with the welcome and are excited to begin their work...