Pioneering arts education program which aims to use the arts to enhance the quality and capacity of education and teaching in Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria
Joined January 2019
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Reading. Writing. Arithmetic.
The foundations matter; so does what children learn to do with them.
At Five Cowries, we bring the 3Rs together with Creativity, Communication, Collaboration and Critical Thinking through creative learning.
#FiveCowries #ArtsEducation
An Artwork Every Nigerian Child Should Know #01
Mother and Child (1965), Yusuf Grillo.
LOOK: What shapes can you find?
MAKE: Create a portrait of someone you know using shapes rather than outlines.
#FiveCowries #NigerianArt
In Nigeria, only 9% of married adolescent girls aged 15 - 19 make informed decisions about their own reproductive health.
Furanni uses embroidery and storytelling to create spaces where women and girls can learn, ask questions and talk openly about their health.
#Furanni
Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door.
Mu Shuka Iri works with 60 women and 10 teachers in Kano to bring creative learning into both classrooms and homes, reaching approximately 5,000 children.
#MuShukaIri #FiveCowries
What does it mean for a girl to have a space to ask questions?
Through Furanni, women and adolescent girls in Kano come together to learn about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
Information matters. So does having the space to ask for it.
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
One Saturday. Seven hubs.
Every week, 300+ children across Kano, Kebbi, Kwara and the FCT come together to make, experiment and explore their own ideas.
Different places. Different children. Different creations.
This is Saturday Art Club.
#FiveCowries #SaturdayArtClub
Creativity needs someone willing to make space for it.
A teacher who lets a child experiment, ask questions and find another way.
This #WorldTeachersDay, we’re celebrating the teachers who make room for children’s ideas every day.
#FiveCowries
Nigeria at 66.
Independence Day asks us to look back. It can also ask us to look forward.
The Nigeria of the future is already taking shape in what children learn, question, make and imagine today.
What are we building for the next generation?
September at Five Cowries.
🎨 Art made
🪡 Stories shared
🌱 Ideas planted
💬 Questions asked
🤝 Communities brought together
A month of creativity, learning and connection.
Here's September in pictures.
#FiveCowries
The young artists are taking over today.
Here’s some of the work coming out of our Saturday Art Clubs.
Take a look.
#FiveCowries #SaturdayArtClub
Why embroidery?
Furanni brings women and adolescent girls together to learn about sexual and reproductive health through embroidery, storytelling and conversation.
Sometimes making something together makes difficult subjects easier to talk about.
#Furanni #FiveCowries
Creativity isn’t an extra.
When children make art, they experiment, make decisions and find their own ways to communicate ideas.
At Five Cowries, we believe arts education is part of learning, not something that comes after it.
#FiveCowries #ArtsEducation #CreativeLearning
Another Saturday at Five Cowries.
300+ children take part in our Art Clubs each week across seven community hubs.
Here’s what this week looked like.
#SaturdayArtClub #FiveCowries
60 women. 10 teachers. Approximately 5,000 children.
Through Mu Shuka Iri, 70 women and teachers are using creative arts to support children’s learning across more than 2,000 households and classrooms in Kano.
#MuShukaIri #FiveCowries
10.2 million children in Nigeria are out of school, and 45% are in the North-West.
Learning happens beyond the classroom too.
Five Cowries works with communities to create more spaces for children to learn, make and express themselves.
Source: UNICEF Nigeria, 2025
300+ children. Seven community hubs. Every Saturday. 🎨
A regular space to draw, paint, experiment and see where an idea takes them.
That’s Saturday Art Club.
#FiveCowries #SaturdayArtClub
75 participants, reaching more than 800 people.
Through Furanni, women and adolescent girls are taking conversations about sexual and reproductive health beyond the sessions and into their communities.
One conversation can travel a long way.
#Furanni #FiveCowries
Who teaches a child?
Not only their teacher.
Through Mu Shuka Iri, 60 women and 10 teachers in Kano are using creative arts to support approximately 5,000 children across more than 2,000 households and classrooms.
#MuShukaIri #FiveCowries
Our strength?
We belong to the communities we serve.
From hubs to women’s centres, offices to under the tree, we keep listening, learning and building together.
#education
Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative retweeted
At the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on May 21, 2025, I joined the First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency Senator (Dr.) Oluremi Tinubu CON, alongside other governors' spouses at a Charity Gala Dinner organized by the Spouses of Heads of Missions in Nigeria.
