The Orange Art Project, a Cape Town nonprofit, is inspiring creativity among foster children by facilitating art sessions run by practising artists in homes across the city.

A blue-eyed figurine with a necklace of black beads; a landscape at sunrise; an owl painstakingly painted on cardboard cutouts. These are just some of the creations of the beneficiaries of the Orange Art Project, a nonprofit company in Cape Town that facilitates art sessions for children living with foster families.

The founder and chairperson of the project, Jill Trappler, believes that creativity is an essential part of learning - a philosophy that has driven her organisation's interventions since it was founded during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

The Orange Art Project has partnered Home from Home, a cluster foster care scheme, to run weekly, mentored art lessons in 22 homes across areas including Observatory, Masiphumelele, Fish Hoek and Ocean View, reaching about 120 children.

"It's education of another form in that it's not outcomes-based. The group activities need to be relatively playful, and also the artists listen to the children and respond to what they're wanting to do. And at the same time, encourage them to do other things, even if it's through games," Trappler explained.

The organisation works with 13 practising artists who act as mentors for the children during sessions. These artists do not follow a formal...