Think you ‘can’t draw’? So, what? Collage art is all made up. As a self-taught artist, I am confident I can guide you through nerves, anxiety and self-judgement to focus your mind and create freely. We can collage in-person using vibrant African print textiles or you can join me online using my fancy print-it-yourself paper pack and trust me, you will surprise yourself with your artistic expression.
My current workshops are called “Free to Be” and are curated to restore, be playful and explore your inner world. Your sense of curiosity, nerves, experimentation, trauma and authentic self are welcome and I hold a judgement-free space for expression.
“In your workshop I reconnected to myself - your art class is a gift for the soul!” - J.R.M, Workshop Participant
What to expect
Each workshop includes:
A warm welcome and check in with tea and aromatherapy to stir the senses
Nourishing breathwork to regulate the nervous system
Mindful movement to engage heart, body and mind coherence
Grounding Ugandan rituals
Sound healing to create deep relaxation and calm
Introspective writing exercises to reconnect to your intuition, wisdom and desires
Meditation to plant the seed of your artwork
Creative exploration to express your authentic self in art.
Who are you? What do you feel? What do you desire? Explore your identities, your dreams and reimagine yourself through art making.
I offer a Pay What You Can model to allow us to support access for all. Two bursary spaces are held for people who experience financial hardship, disabled, Black and global majority, queer, women, Non Binary folk and working class people will be prioritised. Contact me on hello@birungikawooyaart.com to donate to the bursary or apply for a free workshop space.
**About the artist: Birungi Kawooya
**
Birungi Kawooya is a collage artist and art tutor researching ways of being well in community, inspired by nature, Black feminists and Afro somatic movement. She creates using paper, paint, sculpture, natural fibres and batik indigenous to Uganda.
Birungi has a strong collaborative art practice and makes artwork informed by community engagement. The World Reimagined and Kensington and Chelsea Art Week commissioned her to lead community workshops to inform designs for a 1.9 m globe sculpture and a 25 m long mural, respectively.
With a focus on promoting mental well-being, Birungi leads Mindful African art programmes and creates spaces to help people work through anxiety, stimulate their imagination and connect to vibrant African textile designs. Birungi has led online and in-person art workshops for UAL, Black Mind, Sheffield Maternity Cooperative, Royal Borough of Greenwich and Peckham Platform.
With the support of Njabala Foundation, 32° East - Ugandan Arts Trust and the Arts Council England, Birungi explored natural fibres during a five-month residency in Uganda. The artworks portray themes of trauma resolution, time travel, well-being through self-portraiture and sculptural installations inviting womxn to rest.
She has artwork installed in Peckham Square and Freston Road and has exhibited at the New Art Gallery Walsall, the Portico Library, the Hastings Contemporary, the World Reimagined, Hammersmith BID, Mediacom, the Collective Makers, CasildeArt, Black Women Art Network, and Simply Gorgeous salon.
Next available date:24th March 2024