Last year, while planning our first series for the 2025 Canvas Club, we aimed to create a more interactive and engaging workshop experience. As we brainstormed topics for this year’s series and prepared for our January session, we noticed that we had generated a significant amount of trash that could be utilized in the workshop. Over two months, we collected various waste materials and ended up with nearly three bags filled with packaging wraps and graphical waste, including paper bags and nylon wraps.

As an organization dedicated to fostering a better and more equitable environment for creativity, this particular Canvas Club session aimed to educate participants on reducing waste in their surroundings. We encouraged them to explore the potential of reusing waste materials for aesthetic purposes and to express their stories through these items. Importantly, we aimed to inspire participants to think creatively about waste and reconsider their perceptions and approaches toward it.

For Canvas Club in January, we welcomed Mr. Lanre, an environmental artist dedicated to transforming discarded materials into art. His session, titled Dumps and Dirt: The Art You Don’t See, explored how graphical materials, such as papers and nylons, can be reimagined as an artistic medium and emphasized the importance of sustainable art practices. Also, he shared his journey as an environmental artist, explaining how discarded materials have shaped his creative process. 

A hands-on workshop followed, where participants collected and repurposed snack nylons to create an artistic representation of a seller’s market. This activity allowed attendees to engage directly with the concept of transforming waste into art, challenging them to view discarded items as resources rather than trash.

One of the key messages from the session was the importance of constant creation. Mr. Lanre emphasized that artists should always be producing work, as opportunities often come unexpectedly. Having a body of work ready can make all the difference in seizing those moments when they arise.

The session left participants inspired to explore unconventional materials in their creative practices. It reinforced the idea that art exists everywhere and that with the right perspective, anything can become a medium for expression.

…………………………………………………

Weighty yet empty. 

The aesthetics of efforts that command expectations;

Like the miscarriage of a barren woman.

The dirt of origins, the source of depth.

The despised stones of the foundation, the strength of a tower.

Poor backgrounds and fine foregrounds. 

Life is a canvas of time and phases.

The past we know, the present we see, the future we anticipate.

-Poem written by one of the participants, Joshua Ibirogba.