Akon Deograce, Nakivale Young Talent Community, Uganda
Empowering Young Refugees to Explore and Develop Their Talents
Meet Akon Deograce, the 22-year old Founder and Director of Nakivale Young Talent Community in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Full disclosure, if you have not noticed from all of the Nakivale artist posts during this 61-day series, I am a committed supporter and contributor to this group.
Always drawn to the arts, dance, modeling, drawing, and painting, Akon founded Nakivale Young Talent Community in 2021, an initiative where he could channel his passion for change into action.
Akon left his origin country of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 when he was just 10, fleeing the chaos of war. What was a family of 14 was tragically reduced to 8 with only Akon, his parents, and some of his siblings surviving.
The Young Talent Community Origin Story
There’s nothing better than getting the story directly from the ChangeMaker. Here is Akon describing the day he decided to start NYTC:
In 2019, at the age of 17, I embarked on an incredible journey by opening Young Fashion, where I led a group of talented youth. Despite my young age, I was determined to make a difference in the world of art and fashion. Meeting Steven Balome, who shared my passion for art, was a pivotal moment, and together, we dreamed of creating something extraordinary.
Akon began teaching art at his home to children ages 4 to 11. Over time, they began to call him "teacher" even though he was just 18 years old.
On April 25, 2021, a day before my birthday, I experienced a life-changing moment. While drawing with my younger brother, I felt the need to rest. As I lay in bed, unable to sleep, my mind raced with ideas. It was then that I conceived a grand vision for a community-based organization dedicated to promoting skills and talent, especially in art and craft.
I founded NAKIVALE YOUNG TALENT COMMUNITY on that very day, and it felt like a divine birthday gift. This organization aimed to empower young talents and create a better world through art. I passionately believed that "Art has the power to change the world."
As Akon shared his vision with other youth, they eagerly joined him. Steven, Salomo, and many others from his community became part of the journey. Together, they dreamed of building an art education center, where creativity would flourish and talents would be nurtured.
Now in 2024, the dream is a living reality. Akon and 15 other young refugee artist facilitators teach art as well as public speaking and presentation skills to 40 youth ages 5 and up, Monday through Saturday. They also produce their own art and cooperative as an artist collective, supporting and encouraging one another and sharing any revenue from art sales.
June 2024 Online Art Exhibit
Recently, in order to give the art teachers of the NYTC collective an opportunity to share their art with the wider world, Akon proposed that we collaborate on an online art exhibit. We gave ourselves just one month to organize but we were able to pull it off. Together, along with co-host
of GoGreen Social Initative, we produced an online June 1st Young Refugee Artist Exhibit which allowed ten of the artist facilitators to present their work to a dozen viewers live on Zoom with even more viewing on Facebook live.
Thanks to Eventbrite ticket sales and other donations we received after the event, we raised enough money to purchase paints, canvasses, brushes, palette knives and other supplies. Akon and fellow artist facilitator Krehim Sharon travelled to Kampala (a day’s trip away) to procure the supplies. Once they returned home, the artists spent nearly three days and nights painting to produce 30 new paintings just in time for the June 20th World Refugee Day celebration hosted by UNHCR nearby.
Weekly Fashion Shows
Akon, through NYTC, also organizes monthly (now transitioning to weekly) youth fashion shows at the Settlement to create cross-cultural connections and community.
New Art Education Center Under Construction
By the Fall of 2023, the artists had saved up enough money to start building their own Art Education Center. But, the project stalled due to lack of funds. Shortly after the June 1st Online Young Refugee Artist Exhibit, an opportunity fell into my lap to teach art to a family in my community here in the United States. I decided to use the funds from teaching art to help the artists construct the remainder of the walls and install the roof to protect the structure from the coming rainy season. That work was completed just recently in July 2024.
Video produced by Akon of the new Art Education Center under construction in July 2024 with music provided by Antoinette
of International.Arts Education Program
Until the new center is complete, Akon will continue to lead Nakivale Young Talent Community activities at the current center, providing art education Monday through Saturday and peer exhibition sessions for students on Sundays.
Other NYTC Artists Showcased in this Series
Throughout this RainMaker & ChangMaker series, I’ve had the pleasure of highlighting the work of several NYTC artist facilitators and students. My gratitude goes to Akon for making sure I had all of the pictures and video necessary to help do justice to the artists’ work and stories.
Where in the World is Akon?
