About The Project

Kenya and Wales

The Good Ancestor project is a Black-led artist club that acts as an activator and disruptor for creative, collaborative and decolonised activism hosted by Sub Saharan Advisory Panel and funded by Arts Council Wales. This artist club will explore climate and nature through an international lens, focusing on Wales and Africa. The Climate Crisis is highlighting pre-existing inequalities:

The carbon footprint of Western powers is the main contributor to climate change.
Consumerism in the West is a cultural boundary to meaningful change.
Global South countries are under the greatest threat from climate change.
Nature movements are predominantly Western led, operating from within Western cultural norms and structures.
Climate change is disproportionately impacting marginalised communities with the fewest resources to cope.

Diaspora communities feel the impact of climate change on two fronts: in Wales and among the communities they come from. It impacts them financially and emotionally as they continue to support family and friends abroad. We want to claim a central space in combating the Nature Emergency, using soft power to nurture Black-led creative and decolonised action.

Nature does not move along national boundaries, the Climate and Nature Emergency affects all species of plants and animals (including us humans) all across the globe. We will work with artists and partners to explore the global Nature Emergency both locally and in a global context.

The Good Ancestor in 2025

The Good Ancestor project brought together artists to explore climate and nature through an international, decolonised lens, with a focus on Wales and Africa. Rooted in the Black-led Artist Club, this project served as an activator space for creative, collaborative activism that centres the voices and experiences of marginalised communities.

The project not only strengthened the bonds between artists and communities across continents but also fostered a deeper understanding of the cultural and ecological impacts of land exploitation. It encouraged participants to reimagine their role as Good Ancestors — individuals who actively work towards protecting the planet for future generations.

Together, art, activism, and global solidarity became powerful tools for inspiring resilience, action, and environmental justice.

Meet The Artists

Paskaline Maiyo an artist is wearing a cream and orange shirt with orange trousers, she is looking down and smiling. She has blonde, short hair.

Paskaline Maiyo (Cheb Arts)

An artist, actress, and model from Kenya, who now lives in Cardiff, and she uses her face as the main canvas to create striking designs with body paints and makeup palettes, turning everything she creates into a powerful expression of identity, storytelling, and culture.

Jean Sam the artist is wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie and is standing next to a man who e is speaking to.

Mfikela Jean Samuel

A multi-award-winning contemporary artist whose work bridges continents and cultures. Born in Shisong-Kumbo, Cameroon, and now based in North Wales, UK, Mfikela's vibrant acrylic paintings draw inspiration from his African heritage and Welsh experiences, creating a unique fusion that resonates globally.

A little girl is sitting infront of a canvas ans is painting an image, she is being helped by a man sat next to her.

Mukuru Art Collective

Mukuru Art Collective is located in Kenya and has around 40 semi-professional artists below the age of thirty. The collective is deeply embedded in the local community, with their good work extending outside of the current artists, through the running of an annual kids club. The club engages local children under 16, teaching them art every weekend and during school holidays as a way of engaging their unsupervised time in a productive manner.

Three women and Sam Jean the artist are painting a mural on the wall of an office

How to be a Good Ancestor

To be a Good Ancestor is to do good things. Take a look at our resources for inspiration on what to read, watch, listen to, create and how you can spend your time and money on helping make the world fairer and greener place for future generations.

Resources