African Creatives Spark Cultural and Spiritual Community Conservation

Special thanks to Annika Schlemm and Vrije university in Belgium for the opportunity to speak in Brussels on 6th June 2025 on the important connection between Science, Art and the Environment.

I was privileged to be one of three women artists asked to lead community art classes in Yala basin Lake Victoria and Kakamega forest Kenya in April this year as part of Annika’s PhD research connecting science and art on the largest tropical lake in the world and the only remaining tropical rainforest in Kenya.

My talk in Brussels entitled ‘African creatives spark Cultural and Spiritual Community Conservation’ touched on linking indigenous knowledge with issues related to nature, forests and the environment in order to raise awareness on the need to integrate art and creativity into environmental conservation and scientific data.

Orkedi Foundation works closely with international and local partners to bring community art classes to a rural community in Laikipia Kenya that are led by visiting professional African artists in residence at the Foundation - local partners include Ontulili Primates Protection CBO and its partners in conservation: Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and local county Government.

The Foundation highlights the importance of looking after forests, riparian areas, nature, primates and wildlife through the use of art to children in this community in central Kenya.

By Camille