Schools and Workshops

Painting the Future: How a Mural Inspired My Activism

We are joined by Rochelle, a 17-year-old student at Bow School in East London. At 14, she attended a Paint the Change workshop and helped create one of our most iconic murals, which serves as a powerful message urging action on the climate crisis. For Rochelle, this experience revealed the political power of art and inspired her activism. Young people worldwide are urging their political leaders to take immediate climate action, and Rochelle is one of them. Watch this video to hear her story and message.

Greenhouse Gas Removal, Tidying Up the Mess We Made

In a unique collaboration between Paint the Change, Bow School, and leading scientists, students in East London are demanding climate action. During a workshop, Dr. Paul Rouse and Dr. Richard Templer from Imperial College London discussed innovative solutions like biochar, cultivating micro-algae, and direct CO2 capture to remove carbon from the atmosphere. This project empowers young people to take a stand against greenhouse gases and push for investment in solutions to combat climate change. If not now, then when?

Saving the Earth in East London | Bow School

Bow School students created a vibrant mural featuring an androgynous face with planet Earth reflected in its eyes, sending a powerful message to the delegates of COP 26. The mural was the result of workshops led by street artist ATMA and youth mentor Efe Ezekiel. Through these sessions, students expressed their concerns about the climate crisis and discussed other important issues they faced after a year in lockdown. This artwork serves as a call for urgent action on climate change.

Dream Big at Bow School

As a follow-up to the Earth Day project, Bow School called Paint the Change back for an art and filmmaking workshop centering around the school’s core values: determination, adaptability, curiosity, and respect. The mural came out of a workshop that was all about “taking up space with your dream passions” and encouraged the students to dream big!

Learning about Frederick Douglass through Art and Poetry

hosted a three-part art and poetry workshop series at @bowschoolofficial on the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass for Black History Month.Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in America in the 19th Century and became a leader of the abolitionist movement, fighting for the end of slavery through public speaking and writing.Spoken word poet @mrgeepoet helped students explore themes of injustice, education and freedom, reflecting on how Frederick Douglass’s life and antislavery work is still relevant in today’s political climate.

The Boxing Academy, Hackney, East London

We worked with the Boxing Academy in Hackney, East London, to deliver a series of workshops and to produce a mural based on "positive transformation": coming from darkness, reaching brightness.Students at the Boxing Academy often come from challenging backgrounds but through boxing and tough love, they reconnect with respect, kindness, discipline and ethics, opening up to a new positive path: it's journey of positive transformation. The mural reflects on this journey.

Struggle For Equality | Chestnut Grove Academy, Balham

Our most recent workshop at Chestnut Grove Academy in Balham, London, touched on the struggle for equality, past, present and future.Students were encouraged to discuss past and present inequalities through art and poetry and imagine a better and more equal future. They identified inspiring historical activists, shared issues that felt important and close to them, and discussed what equality meant to them.

Bow School's Values - Paint the Change workshop, June 2021

Year 10 students from Bow School in Tower Hamlets, London, joined Paint the Change to design a mural for their school atrium during five two-hour workshops. They wanted to share their school values with future Bow students. Street artist Atma led the first creative session in which the participants described what their school values meant to them and how they would represent them visually, before combining their ideas into a final mural design.

 Celebrating Diversity Through Art at Oakland School | Tower Hamlets, London

Join us on a journey of creativity and inclusion as students from Year 7 to Year 13 at Oakland School for Diversity celebrate their vibrant community! Over 8 months, they explored themes like migration and the Black Lives Matter movement, turning personal stories into powerful artwork. With the help of Paint the Change, poet Tania Nwachukwu, and artist Pinki Tesfay, students shared their ideas and created inspiring murals that showcase what diversity means to them. Watch how young voices are shaping a message of unity and creativity!