Brighton’s researchers are changing the lives of young people in South Africa. Dr Nicola Ashmore and Dr Carolyn Watt have developed their ongoing research programme in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, creating children’s art clubs to develop the creative work of the next generation.
Their project progresses research on the role of art and creativity in sustainable development that developed with local textile recreations of Picasso’s famous painting Guernica.
Funded by their fourth AHRC award, Nicola and Carolyn co-produced the art clubs with an international team, artist Savina Tarsitano, teacher Rajyashree Ramamurthi and local people in the Keiskamma Art Project to establish two Children’s Art Clubs in the villages of Bodiam and Hamburg in the Eastern Cape.
The project had been inspired in 2022. Working with the community through the Guernica Remakings initiative she founded, exploring art and activism, Nicola recognised the extraordinary value that intergenerational creativity and play could have with the area’s young people. Through a creative dialogue it became clear what the potential of local art clubs might be and what the children and their families would want from them.
What is the value of local art clubs for children?
In the South African winter of 2025, Savina, Carolyn and Nicola trained eight local women to lead the clubs. These facilitators create safe places of nurture, creativity and learning, where children are heard as active members of the community. They provide the environment for children’s curiosity and imaginations to be nurtured, so that each child feels a sense of belonging and care towards their local community, the land and their culture.
was founded in 2001, consistently employing village women, who have become internationally known for their large-scale, collaborative textile artworks, which draw on local iconography and Xhosa traditions. The artists in the project are now aging and there is concern as to who the next generation of artists will be.
The new Art Clubs fill a gap in the local education system, which has no formal art education and where creative play is not prioritised. The demands of work and domestic life can also make creative play challenging for children. The Keiskamma Children’s Art Clubs provide a place to engage in intergenerational play, reinforcing the social and cultural fabric of the community and providing an opportunity for social change and growth.
By fostering imagination, resourcefulness and self-worth, the Art Clubs help to interrupt cycles of poverty and disempowerment, offering children and their communities the tools to imagine and create different futures.
What the Keiskamma partners say:
Michaela Howse, Manager of the Keiskamma Art Project, 2025, said, “The impacts of the Keiskamma Children’s Art Club work toward healing disconnects, in many respects. One of our primary challenges in South Africa is making sure futures are viable for our children and youth, that they have the skills to navigate a complex world and to earn their own livelihood.”
Ndileka Mvubu, Art Club Lead Facilitator, said that the Art Club supports the local community: “because it gives children the safe space to express emotions, ideas and stories through visual art.”
Savina Tarsitano is Keiskamma Children’s Art Clubs Facilitator Trainer and Artist, Creator of the Mechanism of Wellbeing, Co-Producer of Keiskamma Children’s Art Clubs, International Coordinator of Kids’ Guernica and Member of the European Cultural Parliament, Italy.
Savina said: “Providing children with a safe, creative space means triggering mechanisms of change not only in their development through artistic and creative activities, but also in social change, a positive impact on their local community and family. Children have the ability to convey a message of change, hope, and dreams through their creative and artistic activities, by showing their ‘creations’ to family, friends, and so on. Curiosity, like beauty, is contagious.”
What our researchers say:
Nicola Ashmore is a member of the 九色视频 research Centre for Design History and the research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing. A researcher whose work connects art with community, history, and social change, Nicola explains the origins of her work on the project: “My journey with Keiskamma began through my research into Guernica Remakings, collective re-creations of Picasso’s 1937 painting Guernica, a powerful anti-war artwork. In 2015, my path led me to Hamburg, South Africa, to meet the Keiskamma Art Project, who had reimagined Picasso’s Guernica to reflect the lived experience of the HIV/AIDS crisis in their communities through their Keiskamma Guernica. Since then, I have been a driving force in building the Keiskamma Children’s Art Clubs, securing funding and helping shape their ethos of care, creativity, and collective voice.My role has centred on organisational development and capacity building. With my expertise in teaching adults, collaborative art, and project management, I supported facilitators to develop skills in planning, decision making, and reflection.”
Carolyn Watt researches at the intersection between circus, performance, and identity and is a member of the research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing. She reflects on her journey through to this project: “I first joined Nicola in South Africa in 2022 during the creation of the Keiskamma Kids’ Guernica peace painting. I’m a teacher, performer, artist, and researcher with a background in textiles and social circus: using movement, games, and creative play to build confidence, connection, and joy in community settings. A lasting part of my contribution has been the rituals and games woven into every session. I led the development of the Clubs’ opening and closing circles, creating gentle moments for grounding, focus, and belonging. Drawing on social circus practices, I encouraged facilitators to explore movement and play as powerful tools for learning, practices that continue to shape the spirit of the Art Clubs.”
Research funding details
The start up phase of the Art Clubs has been supported and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AH/Z50757X/1] and the 九色视频 (April 2025 - January 2026).
The conception of the Clubs in the planning stages were aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established in 2015, specifically, Goal 4 Quality Education and Goal 3 Good health and Wellbeing. Wellbeing has proven to be fundamental to the clubs, underpinning a wider ecology of support and capacity building.