Nathalic Sindano, Nakivale Young Talent Community Artist
Her Dream Is Still There...
This is Day 35 of 61 days of Small Art Big Heart, featuring RainMakers & ChangeMakers. Today, I’m featuring Nathalic Sindano, 18 year old Congolese refugee mixed media artist with the Nakivale Young Talent Community located in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda.
She participated in our June 1st Young Refugee Artist Online Expo (scroll down for a short video of her presentation). Here she is right after the exhibit, thanking the organizers including Elijah Astute’s Bio-Green organization (now GoGreen Social Initiative) who I just featured yesterday for Day 34.
Just several weeks after the June 1st exhibit, thanks to ticket sales and donations, the artists were able to purchase new paints and canvasses. They painted three days and three nights to prepare 30 pieces or the June 23rd World Refugee Day event hosted by UNHCR. Nathalic painted “Our Foundation” and one other piece which I look forward to sharing at a later time.
Our Foundation by Nathalic Sindano
You can purchase “Our Foundation” prints or merchandise at the RedBubble site I set up to showcase the artists’ work. All proceeds benefit the artists. Originals are available for sale; although we are currently still working on pricing shipping costs and logistics.
Nathalic explains her piece here:
I came to realize that most countries all over the world ignore young kids and youth, but especially in Africa, without knowing that they are the ones who will become the good leaders of tomorrow. I used the flowers on the head to show that they have good ideas upon them but we can see them just if we see and support them. So let’s not ignore them because they have good and beautiful ideals that if they get support they can change the world into a bueatiful world. Let’s support their ideas and talents. - Nathalic Sindano
Nathalic’s Presentation at the June 1st Art Expo
Her Dream Is Still There…
In the heart of DR Congo in 2006, Nathalic Sindano's arrival was a beacon of joy for her family. Growing up in Bukavu, she was a bright spark in her community, her eyes alight with visions of vibrant canvases and the sweep of a brush. Despite the societal chains that sought to restrain her ambitions, Nathalic's dream of becoming an artist burned with a fierce intensity. The discouraging words of those who believed a girl's destiny was prewritten could not smother the fire in her spirit.
The year 2017 marked a period of darkness for Nathalic as the war in DRC claimed her brother’s life, a loss that shattered her world. With her family reduced to a fragment, they fled to the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda. Here, amidst the ashes of her former life, Nathalic's dream seemed to wither, the title of 'refugee' weighing heavily upon her. But fate had other plans when she met Mushagalusa, a kindred spirit who saw the ember of talent within her. His words reignited her hope, "Your dream is still there."
Guided by Mushagalusa to his brother, the artist Akon Deograce, Nathalic found a mentor, an ally, and a new chapter at the Nakivale Young Talent Community. With each stroke of her brush, she reclaimed her narrative, her talent blossoming like a resilient flower through concrete. By 2023, Nathalic's art spoke volumes, a language of color and emotion that defied her circumstances. Nathalic stands as a testament to the enduring power of dreams. Her work is not just a display of skill, but a gallery of triumph over trials, a celebration of the indomitable human spirit.
Nathalic Sindano, once a girl with a dream, has emerged as a beacon of inspiration, her art a vibrant narrative of hope that resonates far beyond the canvas. (Bio written by AKON DEOGRACE, founder of NYTC).
Where in the World is Nathalic?
What an inspiration she is, like a flower through concrete!