It is not only the children who get to learn and apply new artistic skills but the teachers too. Mrs Savage journeyed back to Africa and took part in an online creative workshop that focused on Adinkra printing. It was led by Kwame Bakoji-Hume, founder of African Activities, who explored the symbols of the West African Akan people and their love of print. An ‘adinkra’ is a visual symbol that was printed on fabric and dates back to the 1800s using traditional African textiles. The symbols represent proverbs which are a great way of exploring and understanding Akan history and how it impacts now, in the present day.

Mrs Savage went on a creative venture, carving potatoes to create symbols, painting them with bright colours and printing them to create a colourful design. Depending on how different symbols are combined, the message of the Adinkra cloth differs to tell a unique story. Mrs Savage’s message combines the heart (Akoma) to embrace endurance, love and patience and a star (Nsoromma) to express the message to live life to its fullest knowing you are supported and strengthened by God.

SVPS has embarked on their Artsmark Journey to celebrate and raise the profile of arts and culture in our school so Mrs Savage will be taking children on a learning journey to create their own symbolic, hand-printed Adinkra artworks in the future.