The GoDown recently partnered with Braeside School for their Arts Week. The theme of the week was Afrofuturism, and the children explored their understandings and interpretations of Afrofuturism, which was quite enriching. The kids have been great to know, and we had to share some of their thoughts with you.
We now speak to Lincoln Maina, one of the very generous students who donated their artwork to our fundraising drive.
The experience was, in his words, “fun.” Why? “We’ve done plenty of art and craft and drawing, and I’ve learned stuff I didn’t know before, and I hope you guys can come again!”
He realised there’s a lot in art that he can do but had no clue he could before this week with the GoDown. “For example, I can do pretty well with charcoal!”
What is afrofuturism to Lincoln? “Afrofuturism is about the future, the past and the present. When you combine the future and the past you make Afrofuturism. It’s an awesome word! It makes you think of robots in the future with afros! It gives you a kind of burst of creativity. “
He also loved realising the possibilities of what one can do with time: “I never knew I could do this much in a week – do portraits, play practice, and still do my training for rugby and football!”
And how does Lincoln feel about donating his art? (The students allowed us to sell their artwork at between 500-1000 shillings and have the proceeds go to the GoDown as their #GoDownTransforms contributions.) “It’s fine to give my art for free because I know I could make a lot more art. And, if you feel very attached to your painting, you can always buy it back – and in this case, you would be donating twice, which is even better.”
Lincoln truly exudes the beginnings of a force to be reckoned with!