MASK (Mobile Art School Kenya)

MASK is a Mobile Art School that was set up in Kenya in 2006 by a London-based artist, Alla Tkachuk. This was so they could ‘unleash creativity’ in young people, due to the lack of creative education in Kenya. Research shows that if creativity is neglected, then it can diminish.

MASK is a school that will help to improve young people's thinking, education and well-being. It would also help to eradicate poverty, build peace, increase the employability of young people and grow economies, resulting in socio-economic development in Kenya. Since 2009, MASK has taught 25,000 children the skills required in art, although creativeness in around 100 million young people (75% of East Africa’s population) will still remain under-utilised. This number increases a lot further when you consider the whole continent of Africa. This is where multiple projects could be set up by Global Giving to reduce the number of people lacking in creative education even further.

Much like the Maasai Mbili, one of MASK’s focuses is on peace-building by running a ‘peace-building through art programme’. This programme is a grassroots development project, as it was conducted in consultation with local national governments and peace-building NGO’s such as: Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA) and Centre for Conflict Resolution – Kenya (CCRK); to focus on schoolchildren, disabled children, abused children, refugees and victims of the post-election conflict. All of those who take part in the activities are aged between 3 and 19 years old. MASK focuses on young people, as they believe that “developing values and attitudes in young people from the early age prevents conflict and builds peace”.

However, children aren’t the only ones who suffered in the post-election violence, in which people seem to be supporting the most. Although this is a sustainable way to support future generations, Global Giving could also set up projects to support the current and slightly older generations. This would create a better all-round society, not only now, but in the future too.

If art and creativity is implemented into the current generations, then this could provide a strong economic benefit to future generations. Creative industries in the UK have grown by 34% in the last year and the US and UK combined employ 8 million people in the creative industries, generating $250 billion every year. This could happen in Kenya too, if we can make change happen.

Creative education is directly linked to culture and with culture, is growth and development. This combined with the notion that creativity can generate social, economic and political development could lead and support the eradication of poverty.

An NGO company, Center for Conflict Resolution – Kenya, that works with MASK said:

"We are happy to associate ourselves with the Mobile Art School in Kenya and its founders. This programme is the first of its kind in this country. Though the ministry of Education has some small allocation on art in schools the schools hardly utilize these facilities preferring to concentrate only on the examinable subjects. We hope that this programme can be extended to most parts of the country."

                                     - Francis Apollos, Executive Director, Center for Conflict Resolution - Kenya.

This quote displays the need for art in Kenya and how the government has a strong focus on academic subjects in comparison to more artistic subjects. Global Giving could support MASK and help to make projects greater and better for Kenya’s population. This would benefit the country as a whole, as well as individuals. This approach is known as ‘bottom-up’ development, whereas the Kenyan government are implementing a ‘top-down’ approach. The government’s approach along with charities and organisations will be able to improve Kenya if they worked better in co-operation, achieving the highest possible standard.

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CATEGORY: ART & DESIGN and EDUCATION and CULTURE and SOCIETY