The Hands On Art Workshops Manual

The Manual is an art educational project comprised of an ever-evolving handbook of workshops devised by artists from around the globe, designed to facilitate and promote dialogue and knowledge exchange between artists and students internationally. The Manual aligns with the aim of Hands On Art Workshops, to support and encourage creative and imaginative thinking, engagement and exchange, globally and inter-generationally, between artists and students. The Manual grew out of a series of art workshops devised by Lisa for students in Kakuma Refugee Camp during the Covid-19 pandemic, which were delivered via mobile phone messaging through the Hands On Art Workshops programme with support from UNHCR and local teachers in Kakuma.

Each workshop in the Manual stems from the contributing artist’s practice and features an introduction by the artist, the workshop title and scope, art materials required and a set of guidelines that may or may not include illustrations. Using these instructions, any workshop can be communicated and shared through email and printed locally to facilitate workshops delivered by other teachers and artists in Kakuma Refugee Camp and beyond. The workshops are designed for primary and secondary school students, and several Slade alumni have contributed workshops to the Manual. The current edition of the Hands On Art Workshops Manual is in English.

Hands On Art Workshops Scholarship

An annual scholarship that provides full fees for secondary school tuition for a female primary school learner in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement participating in Hands On Art Workshops, in support of education for girls.

Hands On Gateway Bursary

Provides a one-year salary for two secondary school graduates as Hands On Coach and Assistant Coach to independently lead and support art activities in community learning centres and Art Clubs in schools across Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement.

Hands On/Slade Short Courses Bursary

Enables the Hands On Coaches to join the Slade Short Courses online programmes in drawing and painting at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL throughout the academic year.

Annual Hands On Cultural Research Trip Bursary

Enables the two Hands On Coaches to travel from Kakuma Refugee Camp to Nairobi for a week of visiting galleries and museums, and connecting with local artists.

Hands On m2 Gallery

The Hands On m2 Gallery is an art educational, non-commercial project designed to showcase the artwork from primary and secondary school students participating in the Hands On programme across Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement. It also advocates the importance and value of art education, fostering imaginative thinking, innovation and creativity.

The Hands On m2 Gallery is a 2.5-metre square brick pavilion with an outward-facing 1-metre square window on each of its four walls, each window acting as the gallery. The gallery is powered by solar panels to provide nighttime illumination and has a water harvesting system for watering the trees planted around the sets of benches built into the gallery base. The gallery will present 6 exhibitions a year, presenting artwork created by participants in the Hands On Art Workshops programme led by the Hands On Coach, with support from Lisa and Stephanie. The gallery has 24/7 free access.

The Hands On m2 Gallery is based on the m2 gallery in London, which was conceived and designed by the late British architect Ken Taylor. The design of the gallery for Kakuma Refugee Camp was adapted by Wilfred Opundo, UNHCR Technical and Engineering. The site for the gallery in Kakuma is at a juncture that embraces the Ethiopian Community Library, the artist-run ‘Bole Restaurant’ and professional artists’ studios and workshops. The gallery thus contributes to the cultural and social amenities already present and active in the area.

The inaugural exhibition ‘Group Portrait 2024’ of the Hands On m2 Gallery took place August 2024 at the launch of the gallery. The exhibition featured 190 hand-painted self-portraits on paper and cardboard cutouts created by each participant in the Hands On Art Workshops programme across Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement. In tandem with ‘Group Portrait 2024’, a group exhibition ‘Time and Place’ introduced paintings and digital prints of the Hands On Coaches past and present in the Ethiopian Community Library.