Between June and July, two different workshops were held for children with challenges in Abuja and Enugu as part of activities lined-up for the 2024 Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF). Themed, Our Potential, Our Future Hope, the workshops embodied the belief that every child has unique gifts and abilities waiting to be discovered.

For the days that the workshops lasted, the children unleashed their creativity and imagination using various means of art, which include drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphics and textile designs. These young artists did not only showcase their talents but also ignited a sense of hope within themselves and others. They resonated the feeling that art has the power to transcend limitations and empower individuals to dream big and pursue their passions.

With these workshops, the organisers celebrated the boundless potential of children with disabilities and pave the way for a future where their voices are heard, their talents are recognised, and their dreams fulfilled. “Our shared humanity, creativity, and hope will guide us as we create a more inclusive and inspiring world through art,” said the organisers of LIMCAF.

At the Abuja leg of the workshop, which was designed for special needs children, the LIMCAF 2024 theme, Humanism, came to play. It offered hope to the seemingly hopeless and was therapy to the challenged children. The workshop, which was coordinated by Klaranze Okhide, LIMCAF 2009 third prize winner and the Abuja Region Coordinator, held on June 25 and 26, 2024, at Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja.

Thirty two children from five schools and one private individual attended the workshop. The schools selected included, JKS Special Needs Academic Kubua, Child Care Trust Bwari, FCT School for Children with Needs, Kuje, SASCON International School, and FCT School for the Blind Children, Jabi. The students were accompanied by their care givers.

On the first day, the workshop focused on drawings and paintings, while the second day was concentrated on textile (tie and dye). The atmosphere was vibrant and elicited in both the observers and the caregiver teachers a sense of wonder and love of the process of teaching and learning by children who otherwise could live very limited lives if such opportunities were not made available.

Guests at the workshop Included, Mrs. MaryRose Lante Briggs, CEO, Petra Speech and Early Childhood Development Centre, and Dr. Tagbo Okeke, who was so move and excited by the workshop and what came out from the children’s efforts that she offered to endow a prize to be named after her son every year.

The Kanyinyeyachukwu Tagbo Prize will be on offer as one of the LIMCAF Endowed Prizes category for Persons Living with Disability. The Enugu leg was held on July 11 and 12, 2024, at Alliance Francaise, on Neni Street, Ogui Enugu. The workshop was declared open by the Executive Director of LIMCAF, Mr. Kevin Ejiofor.

A total of 28 children with various challenges, ranging from visual impairment, hearing Impairment, and autism, participated in the workshop. The children were from Therapeutic Inclusive Secondary School, Abakpa Nike and Evami Special School. They were joined by two independent participants.

During the workshop, children were taken through the rudiments of drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, textile, and graphic design by various resource persons. At the end of the workshop, they were presented with certificates of participation.