In a quiet hall at the DRIMS School System, dozens of students bent over their desks, carefully shaping lines across blank pages.
To an outside observer, the exercise might look simple. But for the 50 students gathered in the hall, it was about mastering the foundational principles of drawing, including line, shape, form and proportion; and color application techniques of how complementary, analogous and triadic color schemes interact to create balance and contrast in art composition.
"In art, the foundation determines everything that follows," says Hallie Ndorley, a Liberian Canadian visual artist whose creative platform, the Hallie Art Gallery organizes the training session. "Before an artist develops a personal style, they must first understand structure. They must understand how forms are built, how light interacts with surfaces, and how color relationships influence perception."
Ndorley's emphasis on fundamentals reflects a broader principle widely recognized in the arts as a key factor that separates artists who grow from those who plateau. According to experts, line control, proportion, and understanding how colors interact are the bedrock upon which every other artistic skill is built, providing artists with the control needed for coherent visual expression.
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Yet across much of Africa, access to this technical foundation remains uneven, creating a talent gap just as the continent's creative economy begins to expand into a significant economic sector. According to a 2022 report by UNCTAD, Africa accounts for roughly 1.5 percent of the global creative economy, supporting about two million jobs, a modest share relative to the continent's demographic scale and cultural influence.
In a 2024 article, the Africa CEO Forum argued that Africa's creative industries including the visual arts sector could generate up to $200 billion in annual exports and more than 20 million jobs by 2030 if supported by sustained investment in skills development.
UNESCO, meanwhile, has argued in multiple reports that the growth of Africa's creative industries has been constrained by the low policy priority given to arts education, and where such programs exist, access to trained teachers and learning materials are often limited. The downstream effect, experts say, is a creative sector shaped more by informal learning than by technical mastery, even as demand grows for artists with strong foundational skills.
In Liberia, the gap is even more pronounced. As a signatory to several UNESCO cultural conventions, the country nonetheless lacks a national arts education program, falling short of commitments to integrate arts education across formal, non-formal and informal learning systems. In the few schools offering arts education, such as the DRIMS School System, educators say existing curricula often fail to bridge the gap between classroom theory and the technical skills required for professional development.
"Interest in art has not disappeared among Liberians, but the pathways that support professional development remain limited," Ndorley explains. "Schools offering fine arts are few, and even where subjects are taught, gaps persist, leaving many aspiring artists without the foundation needed to build sustainable careers or navigate professional opportunities."
It is this gap that the Hallie Gallery, a creative platform working at the intersection of arts education, skills development and social inclusion, is seeking to address. Founded by Ndorley, the Gallery operates on the belief that growing Liberia's creative economy requires visual artists who are not only expressive but technically grounded.
The March 14 session with the DRIMS School System formed part of that broader effort to support artistic development while positioning art education as both a creative pursuit and a professional pathway. Held under the theme "Discovering the Language of Visual Art," the training is one of several planned collaborations between the administrators of the DRIMS School System and Hallie Gallery to expose students to art techniques and modern studio practices.
Such engagement, the Ndorley noted, introduces discipline, material awareness and foundational methods that help students better understand the creative skills needed for success as fine artists. He added the Gallery sessions also encourage students to think critically about their work, explore personal expression, and develop confidence in presenting their ideas.
"We want students to understand that art involves both creativity and technical skill. By introducing these foundations early, students gain confidence and a clearer understanding of artistic development," Ndorley said. "Our goal is to give young artists not only the tools to create but the mindset to develop professionally, to see art as a viable career path, and to understand how foundational skills shape their long-term growth in the creative sector."
At DRIMS School System, administrators say the collaboration is already influencing how art is taught. Ruth Johnson, principal of the school, described the partnership with Hallie Gallery as a turning point for the institution's art programme, giving students a clearer understanding of professional artistic development.
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She added that the school has long aimed to provide students with opportunities to explore creative expression in greater depth, describing the collaboration with the Gallery as a significant step in that direction.
"The collaboration with the Gallery is a model for how external creative platforms can complement formal art education. They bring a professional perspective and technical expertise, including real-world practice," Johnson said. "For our teachers, it has also been an opportunity to observe new methods, build confidence in teaching fine arts, and learn how to incorporate more structured artistic practices into their classrooms."
According to Johnson, the impact of the workshop is already visible, with students paying closer attention to the finest details in their compositions, experimenting with unfamiliar techniques, and asking more questions about materials and process.
She added that arts education plays a broader role in preparing students for future opportunities, as it equips them with discipline, problem-solving ability and critical thinking skills that are relevant beyond the studio.
