Lavington Girls: art, trees and confidence
The Unity Art Club runs at Lavington Girls Secondary School in Westlands, Nairobi, a public school led by Chief Principal Jean Mwangi. Many of its students come from Kawangware, Kibera and Kangemi. The club gives them a place to make art, learn practical skills and care for the environment.
Murals
Club members planned, sketched and painted a campus-wide mural program, including a mural honouring icons like Wangari Maathai. They learned the difference between a mural and a page: you sketch first, work as a team and keep the whole picture in mind. One very large mural is still only partly painted, ready for a student-painted partner mural.
3D printing and design
Unity piloted an introductory 3D printing initiative next to the painting work. In their letters, students write about colour theory, 2D and 3D shapes, depth, proportion and shading. Some now plan to study art, design or architecture at university.
Galleries, trees and Green Canopy
Trips to One Off Gallery and the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute showed students art about plastic pollution in Nairobi's rivers, history, and people's bond with nature. At the Green Future Initiative, sponsored by Village Market, students planted 489 trees on campus. The recycled Village Market paper bags from the planting became Green Canopy, an installation shaped like a willow tree with each folded bag as a leaf.
In their words
“my days can be stressing but the brushes and paint have a way of filling my mind with extra-ordinary peace” — Lavington Girls student
“ever since I joined... it has build up my self-esteem” — Lavington Girls student
“made it possible for me to build my confident and believe in myself” — Lavington Girls student
More student voices · The Lavington Girls program · All sustainability projects
Partner with the program
We're looking for partners for art materials and equipment, field trips, a student-painted partner mural, or taking the model to other schools. Propose a partnership, or reach us on WhatsApp or by email.