Over the past two weeks in Medellín, I’ve been immersed in projects that have combined art, community building, and learning from the city’s rich history.

At Picacho con Futuro, I had the joy of running two art workshops with local children, along with my fellow Laidlaw scholars, as well as volunteers from our working space UPB. Paint, paper, and plenty of chaos filled our time — but more importantly, so did laughter and the kind of focus that only comes when creativity takes over. We’re now channelling that same energy into preparing for a community bazaar, where the children’s work creating their houses will be shown through a mural of Picacho. I've also worked on a leaflet design alongside the other scholars to promote recycling and other elements of sustainability in the community. 

With Mi Barrio Mi Sueño, I swapped paintbrushes for shovels, helping to build a new playpark. It was hard and at times very hot work, but it was rewarding to see our impact in real time.

Our  visit to the Museo Casa de la Memoria, a powerful space dedicated to telling the stories of Colombia’s conflict and resilience, was a particularly impactful part of the past week, and drove home both the complex history of Medellin and the strength of its many communities.

I also wanted to thank everyone at Picacho and particularly MakeSense, who have made my time so genuinely enjoyable and supported us with every element of our time in Medellin.