ESSUBI arts is a group of New York City artists passionate about using our talents to serve orphaned children in Uganda.
CREATE.
HOPE.
Mission
Our mission is to teach multi-disciplinary art lessons that foster imagination, hope, and healing for Ugandan children living with orphan hearts.
Vision
Our vision is to provide continued art creation opportunities, in a variety of mediums, to the children living at New Hope Uganda and other centers like it who have very limited access and resources in these areas. It is our desire to equip children with orphan hearts to explore the world creatively so they may open the windows of imagination, curiosity, and self-expression and find new ways to connect with their Creator.
ESSUBI arts is excited to announce our second trip to New Hope Uganda in February 2012.
What we do
We partner with Ugandan Children's Centers to teach multi-disciplinary art classes geared towards helping the children explore, craft, and share their stories.
We present their stories in their communities.
We responsibly tell their stories in NYC to raise advocacy and awareness.
In July of 2009, over a cup of coffee, ESSUBI arts was born.
Leslie knew a staff member at a children's center in Uganda and had been told there was interest in providing art lessons in the primary school.
By October Leslie, Rachael, and Chris were preparing to spend six weeks teaching at New Hope Uganda. With the incredible support of friends and family the funds were raised to set off and serve the children well.
In February 2010, the trio arrived in Uganda with four large boxes of art supplies, a few suitcases, and the goal of teaching art lessons to the fatherless children living at New Hope Uganda.
Immediately, their hearts were connected to the children, teachers, and staff of New Hope. The children, who had little to no experience with fine arts, were hungry for a chance to express themselves through new materials and ideas. Classes exploring painting, drawing, sculpture, teacher workshops, and photography were offered. In addition, Leslie, Chris, and Rachael helped to create vibrant murals on the faded walls of one common area, called a banda.
The whole community was a hive of activity and excitement on the day of the big art exhibit at the primary school. Watching the children light up when they found their work hanging on the wall was an indescribable experience.
ESSUBI arts was born out of the passion to not only continue providing art creation opportunities to Ugandan children, but to also bring other people alongside these amazingly beautiful young artists.
Why Uganda?
1950's- Colonial powers pull out of much of Africa, leaving a wake of chaotic politics
1960's- Uganda is held in an iron grip by two violent dictators fighting for power: Abote and Amin. Over 300,000 innocent lives are taken.
1980's- The height of a 21 year civil war that devastates the country. It's during this time that Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army forms.
1990's- In the late eighties into the 90's, The Lord's Resistance Army abducts thousands of children, forcing them to become fighters and sex slaves.
The HIV/AIDS pandenmic creates over 1 million orphans in Uganda alone.
The LRA still operates in pockets of Uganda and surrounding areas, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Due to lack of educational opportunities and widespread poverty, unwanted children in Uganda continue to have limited prospects. But that can change.
Why Art?
We believe that art can help people re-imagine their lives and their world. We believe that by creatively exploring their world, children living in unjust conditions can see the possibilities for hope, beauty, and change growing all around them. We believe that by creatively expressing their stories, children living with orphan hearts can find understanding and a vision for their future.
New York City
Uganda
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide continued art creation opportunities, in a variety of mediums, for the children living at New Hope Uganda and other centers like it who have very limited access and resources in these areas.
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How You Can Help
Volunteer your time!- Help us tell the children's stories by volunteering at one of our art shows. We're also always looking for a place to tell their stories!
Volunteer your resources!- Help us create with the children by donating money and/or materials.
Volunteer your Talents!- If you are an interested professional NYC artist who believes in New Hope's mission of "Bringing the Fatherhood of God to the fatherless", we'd love to talk with you about joining us on a future trip!
For this project, we painted black lines with string to learn that you don't always have to use a paint brush to create art. Then, we learned about color mixing and used that knowledge to fill our papers with color!
For many of the children at New Hope, this was their first experience with painting, observational drawing, and photography. New discoveries were abundant!
Leslie helps a P1 (first grade) student master water color painting.
Rachael plays a color mixing game with the children. Red + Blue = ?
A P4 student carefully works on his drawing of an imaginary bird. Uganda has the largest number of bird species of any country in the world.
Under "Uncle Chris"'s direction, Independant Year Students explored portrait photography. This was taken by a student.
Auntie Leslie and Auntie Rachael take a Boda Boda ride- the preferred method of transportation on the red dirt roads of Uganda's bush regions.
The children loved being able to spot their work that was on display for the whole community to see.
Children and staff fill the room to see the art.
Smiling at all of the wonderful creations surrounding us!
Essubi Arts is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Essubi Arts must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
