University of Lomé & Kara
- Gabriel Grela Mesa
- Dec 4, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 5
Country: Lomé & Kara, Togo
Year: 2019/2020
Benefited institution: American Corners Lomé & Kara
Project: Art and recycling, a more profitable way of looking at the world
Project Description
In collaboration with Mr. Zakaria Bawa, Director of "American Spaces" at the U.S. Embassy in Togo, we designed and delivered a series of hands-on creative workshops for university students. The project consisted of:
Two 4-session workshop cycles at the University of Lomé (8 days total).
One intensive 1.5-day workshop at the University of Kara in northern Togo.
The core concept interconnected Art—as a medium for creative and subconscious expression—with the reuse of waste materials. This fusion advanced environmental advocacy while fostering an entrepreneurial mindset, demonstrating how discarded items can be transformed into new art and craft products for resale.
Workshop Focus:
Lomé, Cycle 1: Creation of large-scale 2D portraits on paper.
Lomé, Cycle 2: Construction of 3D sculptures.
Kara, Intensive Workshop: Large-scale 2D portraits on paper.
To frame the project, students were introduced to global examples of transformative art and collaboration:
Waste Land (Vik Muniz): An artist's transformative work with landfill recyclers.
Prison Art Thrives in Mexico: The power of art in constrained environments.
USA for Africa - We Are The World: A historic model of collective action for a cause.
2D Creation Process Description
Students followed this guided process to create their recycled-material portraits:
Capture: Take a well-lit selfie with a cellphone, mindful of compositional balance between light and shadow.
Transfer: Move the photo to a computer.
Digitally Edit: Using the free online tool Photoshop (photoeditoronline.pro), edit the image to a high-contrast, black-and-white outline. (Instructor provided step-by-step guidance for this transformation.)
Trace Outline: Project the edited image onto a large sheet of paper and trace the key outlines in pencil.
Create with Recyclables: Using pre-collected waste materials, fill the outline by matching colors and textures, recreating the self-portrait with recycled materials.
Activity Objectives
Project Presentation & Outcomes
Each workshop cycle culminated in a public presentation where students explained their creative journey from concept to finished piece. Events featured a volunteer Master of Ceremony and concluded with a community snack.
We are proud to highlight the evolving inclusivity of these events:
The first Lomé presentation was led by one male Master of Ceremony.
The second Lomé presentation was co-hosted by two women, intentionally aligning with Women's History Month (March) and our commitment to inclusion at every stage.
The presentations attracted notable visitors, including the U.S. Embassy's Head of Public Affairs and members of the diplomatic community, showcasing the students' work to a broad and engaged audience.
3D Sculpture Workshop: Collaborative Creation
In the second Lomé workshop, participants formed three mixed teams of 6-7 people each. Their challenge was to construct large-scale sculptures of three randomly assigned animals: a Dog, a Rabbit, and a Monkey.
The creative process followed these stages:
Structural Engineering: Each team built a sturdy skeleton for their animal using wooden rods, metal wire, and nails.
Artistic Transformation: Once the armature was complete, teams fully covered and transformed their structures using a diverse array of collected waste materials.
This hands-on project was designed to equip students with theoretical and practical tools across three key areas:
Artistic: Techniques in large-scale sculpture and material transformation.
Entrepreneurship: Conceptualizing how creative skills can lead to marketable products.
Philanthropy: Understanding how art can serve a community, illustrated by case studies of world-renowned artists who have applied their talent for social and environmental betterment.
The workshop inspired such enthusiastic demand that participation had to be managed through a free, advance registration system to accommodate a focused and effective group size. The cycle concluded with a public presentation of the finished animal sculptures outside the classroom, showcasing the teams' collaborative achievement.
Sculpture workshop, 1° meeting
Sculpture workshop, 2° meeting
Sculpture workshop, 3° meeting
Final public presentation
Kara Intensive Workshop: Art for Social Impact
Kara University Trip
This 1.5-day intensive program at the University of Kara combined artistic skill-building with project-based learning for community engagement.
FIRST PART - Artistic Foundation
The workshop began with the same 2D portrait process used in the first Lomé cycle, ensuring all participants had a shared creative baseline and understood the transformative potential of waste materials.
Kara's workshop summary
SECOND PART - Designing for Change
The core activity challenged students to design a complete artistic project for social good. Working in groups, they addressed a four-part proposal:
The Message: How can we create an artistic event (e.g., a Theater Piece, Sculpture, Musical Play) focused on educating our community about a critical issue? Topics included:
Prevention of early pregnancy.
Preventing drug use.
Identifying and avoiding extreme violence.
Combating racism.
The Method: How can we produce this event using only scrap materials for all props, costumes, and scenery?
The Model: How can the event generate economic and/or material gains? This question reframed sustainability for a local context, proposing that an entrance fee could be a practical item like a package of rice, noodles, or flour—creating a direct, meaningful exchange that benefits both the project and the community.
Presentation & Dialogue: Groups presented their project concepts to peers. The workshop concluded with a guided activity and debate on the topic of racism, directly connecting the theoretical project work to a deep discussion on one of the proposed social themes.
This structure ensured students left not only with new artistic skills but also with a practical framework for using creativity to address social challenges, foster entrepreneurship, and strengthen community bonds.
Students’ debate
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