When Prince Olusegun Adeniyi set out on his journey as an art educator, he had one clear goal: to nurture creativity, unlock potential, and transform lives through the power of art. Two decades later, his work has not only enriched classrooms but has inspired global movements in art and sustainability. Prince Adeniyi has made an indelible mark on art education, from guiding students in rural Nigeria to winning prestigious awards like the David Shepherd Award and the 2023 Pearson Outstanding Innovator of the Year.
His students have built eco-friendly installations, advocated for climate action, and even adopted an endangered black rhino. A finalist for the $1 million Global Teacher Prize in 2021, Adeniyi is known for using visual art to challenge social issues and engage students in complex global topics like climate change. In this conversation, Adeniyi reflects on the power of art in shaping responsible global citizens, his innovative teaching methods, and how he continues to inspire the next generation of artists and eco-advocates. This is a story of how one educator is changing the world, one art project at a time. Stay up to date on the latest in fashion, arts, beauty, and lifestyle by following FAB L’Style Magazine.
Meet Prince Olusegun Adeniyi, a teacher who fights climate change and transforms art education
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: I ventured into teaching art to make a difference, nurture talent, and break the cycle of wasted talents through art education. My mission is to raise the standard of art education, advance the learning field of art, and inspire the next generations of artists and art lovers who will be innovative thinkers and global citizens. I believe that every child is an artist, and engagement in artistic activities is designed to nurture the creativity, expression, and individuality of a child. Art, for me, is not just a subject; it is a veritable platform to help every child tap into their innate creativity, spark their imaginations, and develop problem-solving skills.
For over two decades, I have consistently contributed to nurturing new talents, creating stimulating art projects to improve my students’s creativity, and engaging them in activities that bolster skills demanded of a 21st century workforce, improving their self-confidence, and encouraging them to be lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and global citizens.
It is worthy of note to mention that I am well-travelled. I have attended, exhibited, and presented at international conferences and art events in the USA, London, Angola, Namibia, Egypt, Singapore, the Republic of Benin, and Ghana. One of my key highlights is my visit to Rick Dillingham’s exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art in the United States. The magnificent outcome of sharing Rick’s works with my students at RAIS is packaged in a video, link below:
Another memorable moment was when I took my students to London in 2020 to participate in the Global Canvas Art Contest, where we won the David Shepherd Award. Another is my participation in the CAV summer art program held at the Village of Hope, Ghana. I had beautiful moments making art with my kids and working with other art educators.
FAB: How do you inspire young children to engage with complex topics like climate advocacy through art?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: My teaching philosophy is established on humanistic student-centred philosophies, which are about fostering each student to his/her fullest potential. I implored blended learning classroom-cum-project-based learning aided with technology tools to engage my students in real-world issues exploring their own creativity with a global perspective.
The young children love hands-on and technology-integrated activities. This mix is my joker. I have championed in my school interdisciplinary learning and technology integration in learning, which has fostered effective learning and improved the innovative and critical problem-solving skills of our students.
I engage my students in artistic activities that bolster skills demanded of a 21st century workforce, especially environmental sustainability projects, to inspire their innovative ideas and creativity to be able to contribute to contemporary global issues at local and global levels as informed, engaged, responsible, and responsive global citizens.
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FAB: In your opinion, how can art be a powerful tool for promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle and climate advocacy?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: The universal language of art is a potent force in fostering education for sustainable development and providing solutions to climate change. By integrating art into ESD, we can cultivate a generation of creative, empathetic, and proactive individuals committed to sustainability. Through its ability to communicate, inspire, and mobilise, art will continue to be an indispensable ally in our global efforts to create a more sustainable and resilient future. Arts activities can provoke positive emotions such as hope, responsibility, care, and solidarity that, in turn, inspire resilience and climate action. Arts entertain, inspire, inform, and provoke us. And if art has the power to inform and provoke, art can be used to create awareness about climate change and provoke us to take action to protect our planet. Art can be used to raise awareness of the dangers facing the planet, promote its conservation, and encourage communication and citizen participation to protect nature.
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: We have created 3D installations to advocate against plastic pollution in the oceans and to promote protection and conservation of animals that live in water. We created 3D recycled projects to address the issue of deforestation in Nigeria, and through the art, we articulated the significance of forest restoration towards mitigating global warming. The students had a tree planting advocacy rally and planted trees to commemorate United Nations Days such as World Earth Day, International Day of Forests, and World Environment Day. The 3D installation was featured in diverse Nigerian newspapers to further expand the reach of the project.
The success of these two projects was that they helped to foster sustainability consciousness, caused attitudinal change towards plastic disposal, and encouraged an eco-friendly lifestyle among students, teachers, and parents of the school community and beyond. Some of the students have taken steps further by participating in various beach clean-ups. Many planted trees in their various homes and properties. The two projects won the David Shepherd Award in 2020 and 2021, and we received the Certificate of Adoption of an endangered black rhino named Inka who lived in Namibia. For two years, we have helped to protect the future of Inka.
Similarly, we invented an eco-friendly reading table lamp with the purpose of helping the children living in communities with no/poor access to stable electricity to be able to study at night. The first of its kind was donated to a schoolgirl in Abijo Community to commemorate theInternational Day of the Girl Child in 2021. In 2023, we won the Ciena Solutions Challenge Sustainability Award to improve on our eco-friendly lamp innovation.
In my new school at RAIS, I have facilitated my pupils to delve into the captivating world of mangroves to foster learning about their vital role in coastal communities and marine life, which were expressed through their art. The outstanding pieces were sent for the Children’s Mangrove Art Contest 2024 entry. The selected artworks will be featured in the 2025 Mangrove Calendar, which will be distributed worldwide.
FAB: What role do you see for technology in advancing eco-friendly art education, and how have you implemented it in your teaching?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: As an agent of change, I have achieved excellence in education, using technology and social media. I have always been integrating technology in my teaching, and this has improved tremendously on my global visibility and expanded my global collaboration on eco-friendly art projects. Digital platforms and tools can help spread awareness of environmental issues; my students’ projects have been shared on digital galleries to inspire eco-friendly lifestyles. I use AI to prepare my slides for effective teaching and inspiration for my students.
Technology has made it possible for me to invite experts from different parts of the globe to share their works with my students in virtual lessons. I often exchange artworks of my students with their counterparts across the globe to promote cross-cultural dialogue and appreciation of others’s cultural heritage.
One of the most impactful of these lessons was when Teresa Eça, PhD, engaged my Year 7 students during the 2020 International Arts Education Week. After the lesson, my students made digital submissions of their artworks via Microsoft Forms, and I shared the link with Professor Teresa. She exchanged the works with students in Portugal. The submitted artworks were put up in a virtual exhibition at: https://www.apecv.pt/exposicao-alunos-do-profesor-Olsegun
FAB: What do the Pearson awards and other numerous awards and recognitions you have bagged mean to you, especially in the context of your work in art education and sustainability?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: The Pearson award and other awards have put me on the global stage, expanded my network, and grown my capacity as an art educator. The Awards have created a brand for me as an inspirational global art educator and have boosted my impacts beyond the four walls of the classroom. My journey into the fusion of art and science education took off in 2017 when I attended the prestigious Commonwealth Science Conference in Singapore as one of the leading coordinators of the global winner of the 2017 Commonwealth Science class competition. This achievement marked a pivotal moment in my career, opening doors to new perspectives and approaches in education. It was here that I truly began to understand the profound connection between art and science—two fields often perceived as separate but deeply intertwined in practice. In addition to the conference, my time in Singapore was enriched by visits to two iconic locations: the Botanical Garden and the Science + Art Museum. It inspired me to integrate art in STEM, fostering a learning environment where art and science coexist, enriching the educational experience, and preparing the students to innovate in a rapidly changing world.
FAB: How have these accolades influenced your approach to teaching and your work with students?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: I believe it takes two great passions to be an outstanding teacher: a passion for one’s subject and a passion for teaching. I have demonstrated my passion for both. Also, I have a strong desire to work with the young ones to nurture their talents, help them achieve their greatest potentials, excel in their art exams, instill art appreciation, and promote creativity and open-mindedness viable of global community exposure.
The awards are testament to my dedication and passion for art education. For example, in 2021, I was selected $1 Million Global Teacher Prize Finalist by Varkey Foundation, London for “placing my school on the map for artistic excellence”; I am also a Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award shortlist by Cambridge University Press; two-time recipient of the President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards, 2019 and 2022; Global winner, Innovator of the Year 2023 at the 2023 Pearson International School Teacher Awards; In 2023, I received the British Council International School Award 2022 – 2025 certificate for coordinating the integration of international learning in the curriculum; My commitment to climate education and guiding students to act for the planet have earned my school Climate Action Project Classroom 2022-2023, 2023 Ciena Solutions Challenge Sustainability Award, two-time global winner of the David Shepherd Award; to mention but a few.
The awards have given me opportunities to expand my worldview, made significant connections for collaboration and bringing international mindedness to my classroom, and a magnificent growth in lesson delivery.
Most importantly, I believe that reading about my accomplishments and accolades can help a teacher out there to see that they too can change the world and make global impact from their classrooms irrespective of their location.
FAB: Looking ahead, what are your future goals for your work in art education, particularly in relation to sustainability and climate advocacy?
Prince Olusegun Adeniyi: I am always working at expanding the learning field of art to further improve access to quality art education and advance the front-line of art education in Nigeria and beyond. I want every child, irrespective of their status and social background, to experience the beauty and the rewarding experience of engaging in the art, especially the kids far away in the villages who have no opportunity to engage in the art to uncover their innate abilities.
Also, I would love to continue to contribute in a great measure to nurturing talents, preserving generations of innovative thinkers, breaking the cycle of wasted talents, and equipping my students with the essential competencies needed to thrive in an ever-evolving world.
I look forward to building my STREAM/ART school with scholarships for less privileged children. The school will promote interdisciplinary learning integrated with the ESD, which will enable students to integrate multiple fields of studies like science, technology, robotics, engineering, art, and mathematics for creative, innovative, and critical problem-solving. It will be an outlet for enriching, creative, and innovative activities for the children, where they can learn, create, and exhibit. It will be comprised of teaching studios and laboratories, ICT learning, libraries, galleries, and residency spaces (to accommodate visiting artists and scientists from any part of the world).
