How can we explore people and places through painting?
This lesson plan resource explores Sam Ntiro's depictions of life in Tanzania and the everyday activities that people do together. It encourages students to deepen their understanding of other cultures through looking at art and to discover connections with their own culture. Through this resource, students will have the opportunity to:
learn about artist Sam Ntiro and share and discuss ideas in response to his paintings
use maps and pictures to explore Tanzania and its places
make comparisons between everyday life in Tanzania and life in Scotland / the UK
plan a drawing or painting inspired by Sam Ntiro's work
This Level 2 / KS 2 Art and Design and People, Place and Environment / Geography resource includes a series of activities that can be used together as a lesson plan or as individual components to adapt and integrate into your own scheme of work.
Art and design - Developing students' own personal and creative responses - Developing creative thinking skills through designing and making - Investigate and respond to works of art that relate to their lives and experiences
The World Around Us – Geography - Identify a sense of place through the use of maps, plans, photographs, atlases etc. - Use sensory stimuli to help generate questions and ideas and make connections.
Art and design - I have the opportunity to choose and explore an extended range of media and technologies to create images and objects, comparing and combining them for specific tasks (EXA 2-02a) - I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts (EXA 2-03a) - Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design (EXA 2-05a) - I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others work (EXA 2-07a)
Social studies - People, place and environment - By comparing the lifestyle and culture of citizens in another country with those of Scotland, I can discuss the similarities and differences (SOC 2-19a) - To extend my mental map and sense of place, I can interpret information from different types of maps and am beginning to locate key features within Scotland, UK, Europe or the wider world (SOC 2-14a)
Art and design - Use knowledge about the work of other artists to enrich and inform their work - Use a variety of processes - Evaluate their work through discussion
Geography - identify and locate places and environments using globes, atlases, and maps, e.g. use co-ordinates and four-figure references - estimate and calculate distances - appreciate the diversity of communities in Wales and other countries
Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.
Progression step 3:
- I can explore and experiment independently and demonstrate technical control with a range of creative materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies showing innovation and resilience.
- I can explore the effects that a range of creative techniques, materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies have on my own and others’ creative work.
- I can explore how creative work can represent, document, share and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.
- I can explore and describe how artists and creative work communicate mood, feelings and ideas and the impact they have on an audience.
Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.
Progression step 3:
- I can apply knowledge and understanding of context, and make connections between my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.
- I can reflect upon how artists have achieved effects or communicated moods, emotions and ideas in their work.
Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination
Progression step 3:
- I can combine my knowledge, experience and understanding to plan and communicate my creative work for a range of different audiences, purposes and outcomes.
- I can draw upon my familiarity with a range of discipline-specific techniques in my creative work.
- I can identify and respond creatively to challenges with resilience and flexibility.
Humanities
Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future
Progression step 3:
- I can use my experiences, knowledge and beliefs to generate ideas and frame enquiries.
- I have actively engaged with a range of stimuli, and had opportunities to participate in enquiries, both collaboratively and independently.
- I can use appropriate methods to gather information related to my enquiries and I am able to interpret the information obtained in the context of the enquiry question.
Events and human experiences are complex, and are perceived, interpreted and presented in different ways
Progression step 3:
- I can form, express and discuss my own opinions on a range of issues after considering evidence and the views of others.
- I can begin to understand that interpretations are influenced by identity, experiences, viewpoints and beliefs.
Human societies are complex and diverse and are shaped by human actions and beliefs
Progression step 3:
- I can describe and explain similarities and differences between people’s lives both in the past and present
- I can explore a range of ways in which identity is formed and some of the influences that impact upon diversity in society.
- I can describe and explain the ways in which my life is similar and different to others, and I understand that not everyone shares the same experiences, beliefs and viewpoints.
- I can describe some of the relationships, links and connections between a range of societies.
The Argyll Collection
The focus of this resource is Sam Ntiro's painting Cutting Wood in The Argyll Collection. The Argyll Collection was originally formed to create a collection of artworks so that children living in rural communities in Argyll would have the opportunity to see contemporary art and also to find out about and make connections with other cultures.
Sam Ntiro was a Tanzanian artist. He studied Fine Art at Makerere College in Uganda and then at Slade School of Art in London. After graduating he lived in Dar es Salaam, where he became a successful artist and a champion of Tanzanian art. Among his many achievements, he was also the Tanzanian Ambassador to Great Britain from 1961 to 1964.
Image credit: The Harmon Foundation archives, National Archives and Records Administration (USA)
Samuel J. Ntiro in New York City, 1960
Group activity: Who is Sam Ntiro?
Introduce Sam Ntiro to your students. This photograph of the artist was taken in 1960 in New York. Sam Ntiro sent it to The Argyll Collection in Scotland when they purchased his painting Cutting Wood.
Ask your students:
what do you think the man in the photograph does for a living? What clues can we see in the photograph?
can you see what he is painting?
does this tell us anything about the things he liked to paint?
Questions guidance
The photograph shows Sam Ntiro, an artist from Tanzania, a big country in Africa. In the photograph, he is holding brushes and standing in front of a painting. The painting is on a stand called an easel. (He is also wearing a work coat to protect his clothes from getting paint on them.)
Sam Ntiro grew up in the countryside around Mount Kilimanjaro in the north of Tanzania. (Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the fourth highest mountain in the world.)
After going to art college to study painting he moved to the biggest city in Tanzania, called Dar es Salaam. But he liked to paint his memories of life in the countryside, like the village that we can see in this painting.
Activity: where was Sam Ntiro from?
Sam Ntiro was from Tanzania, a big country on the east coast of Africa.
Show your students a map of Africa.
Ask them where they think Tanzania is on the map.
Discuss with your students:
how far do you think Tanzania is from Scotland / the UK?
is it bigger or smaller than the UK?
what do you think the country might look like? Are there mountains? Are there deserts? Are there cities? Is there a seaside?
Map of Africa showing Tanzania
Mapping Tanzania: learning through maps
Use this digital map tool to calculate how far Tanzania is from the UK
Look at a more detailed map of Tanzania with your students and ask them to locate Mount Kilimanjaro, where Sam Ntiro grew up, and Dar e Salam where he lived after graduating from art school.
Now, look at a map that shows the terrain of the country or a satellite view. Explain to your students how different landscape features such as mountains, lakes, rivers and cities appear on the map.
Tanzania facts
Tanzania is nearly 5,000 miles away from the UK and is over three times bigger than the UK. (The United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 sq km, while Tanzania is approximately 947,300 sq km. The population of Tanzania is smaller than that of the United Kingdom however – there were just under 10 million fewer people living in Tanzania in 2020.)
Like Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, Tanzania has mountains, lakes, flat areas of countryside where people graze animals and grow food, and seaside. It also has big cities.
Even though Sam Ntiro moved to a big city, he liked to paint about life in the countryside where he grew up. Sam's family were members of the Chagga people, a group who have been farmers around Mount Kilimanjaro for a long time.
He painted scenes of everyday life in the village and often painted people working together.
Ask your students what they think is happening in the picture.
What does the painting show?
How many people can you see?
What do you think the people are doing?
What do you think they will do with the wood? Can you think of anything we make using wood?
Ask your students to think about how Sam Ntiro has painted the scene.
How has Sam Ntiro suggested that the figures are in a forest or jungle?
What does the forest look like? What does it make you feel? Is it somewhere that you would like to explore?
How has he painted the figures? How do they stand out against the forest?
Questions guidance
The painting Cutting Wood shows a group of seven people in a forest chopping wood. They may use the wood to make a fire for cooking food. Wood is also used to build houses and make other objects such as furniture or tools.
Sam Ntiro has depicted the forest by painting lots of different trees. He hasn't used lots of colours to paint the forest, suggesting that the big trees are blocking out any sunlight and making the forest dark and shadowy. The bright clothing that the people are wearing stands out against the darkness of the forest that surrounds them.
The shapes of the figures in the painting look very similar. Their individual features aren't defined. Perhaps Sam Ntiro wanted to emphasise the shared task of the figures, and that they are working together towards a shared goal.
Banana Harvest
Here is another painting by Sam Ntiro showing people working together.
What do you think the people are doing in this painting? (You might have to look carefully and closely for a clue!)
Why do you think they are bending the trees?
How does the painting show the people working together? What different activities can you see the people doing?
Questions guidance
The painting shows people harvesting bananas. Men and women are working in groups. A group of men are bending the branches of a banana tree with a long stick so that they can reach the bananas. Another group are cutting a bunch of bananas off the bent tree. A group of women are bending down over the cut bunches of bananas and preparing them to be carried away.
Look again!
Can you spot the bananas in the painting?
What does the painting tell us about how bananas grow?
How different do they look from the bananas that we eat?
Have a look at the leaves of the banana trees – what do they look like?
Bananas grow in big bunches. They are harvested when they are green as this keeps them in better condition for transporting them. They turn yellow when they are ripe and ready to eat.
Group discussion: comparing cultures
With your class compare this painting showing a fruit harvest by Scottish artist John Johnstone, with Sam Ntiro's Banana Harvest.
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)
Ask your students what they think John Johnstone's painting shows, and think about the similarities and differences between this painting and Banana Harvest.
What do you think these people are picking?
Can you spot a dog? Can you spot a man having a break and eating a sandwich?!
Have you ever picked blackberries or raspberries from bushes?
What tasks are the different people doing in the painting? Is there anything that is similar in this scene compared with Sam Ntiro's painting of banana harvesting?
Discussion thoughts
The fruit pickers are picking raspberries. The raspberries are growing on tall-stemmed canes, not on trees as the bananas grow. (When you see raspberries growing wild in the countryside the bushes they grow on don’t look as neat as this!)
The harvesting scene is similar to the scene in Sam Ntiro's painting in that the people are working together to harvest fruit. Some are picking the fruit and some are putting the fruit into baskets ready to be taken away to markets or shops.
Activity: village life home and away
Task your students with exploring more paintings by Sam Ntiro showing village life in Tanzania. This could be an individual activity for the classroom or homework, or students could work in small groups.
Choose a painting from the three paintings shown below.
Write a brief description of what you can see in the painting. What does the painting show?
Are there any similarities between the things or activities shown in the painting and life in the region where you live? What are the differences?
Draw a picture showing an equivalent or similar scene in your town, city or village. You could show the homes that people live in, or groups chatting on the street or animals in a field (if you live near the countryside.)
Buguruni Village
Sam Joseph Ntiro (1923–1993)
Village Gathering 1962
Sam Joseph Ntiro (1923–1993)
Cattle Drinking
Sam Joseph Ntiro (1923–1993)
Once your students have completed their tasks, ask them to share their ideas as a class.
Painting thoughts
The first painting shows a village in Tanzania. (It is not the village that Sam Ntiro grew up in, but his village might have looked a little like this.) The houses in the village are clustered together. We can see a fence and a garden just as many houses in the UK have. But the houses look very different from the type of house we might see in Scotland or the rest of the UK. They are not built from bricks or stone with tile or slate roofs. Many houses in African villages are built using a wooden frame and a mixture of stones and dried mud to make the walls. The roofs are often made from a thatch of leaves or grasses.
The second painting shows people chatting in a group, this is an activity that most of us will recognise. We often see groups of people chatting in the street, outside school or in a park.
The third painting shows cattle drinking water from a trough. This will be a familiar scene for students who live in or near the countryside. The landscape is hilly and dry-looking but it doesn't look like a desert as there are lots of trees in all the paintings.
Making activity: picturing everyday life
Task your students with making a drawing or painting that shows a scene of people working or playing together in the place where they live. The suggestions below provide some ideas for planning the picture.
Sources and starting points
Discuss activities that people do together with your students. These might include:
playing sports or games
having a picnic or eating a meal
reading a story together in class or at home
people working together – such as the woodcutters or harvesters in the paintings we have looked at
In the carousel below are more paintings from Art UK's website showing people taking part in shared activities.
Choose two of the paintings to look at with your students. Try and choose paintings that show very different scenes or where the artists have used very different approaches.
Street Games c.1956
Thomas McGoran (b.1927)
Picnic in the Park 1987
Lucinda Denning (b.1962)
Fishers in the Snow 1966
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Classroom 1951
Heinz Koppel (1919–1980)
The Glorious Game 1997
Peter Howson (b.1958)
The Birthday Party 2004
Mary Beresford-Williams (b.1931)
July, the Seaside 1943
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Discuss the paintings as a class.
What are the people doing in the picture?
How has the artist painted the activity? How have they arranged the people? Do the people fill the picture or are they little – like busy ants!?
How have they set the scene? What else is in the painting? What is in the background?
Picture planning
Ask your students to decide what they will draw or paint, and to share their ideas with the rest of the class. (This might help students to pinpoint a plan and articulate their ideas.)
Use these prompt questions to help them to think about and plan their pictures.
What are the different things people might be doing in your picture? (For example, if it's a football game, some people might be running after the ball, someone might be kicking the ball and some people might be watching the game and cheering on the players.)
Where are the people? Are they outside? Are they inside? What will the background of the picture be?
Are you going to draw or paint groups of tiny people in a big landscape (as with some of Sam Ntiro's paintings)? Or will the people fill the paper?
Sam Ntiro was an ambassador for Tanzania in the 1960s. Task your students with thinking about what they would share about the place where they live if they were an ambassador. They could collect images and write brief texts about their sense of place which could be presented either in notebooks, as a digital presentation or as an inspiration or mood board.
This would work well as an individual study or homework project.
What do you want to tell people about where you are from?
What does your area look like - what are the buildings like? Is there countryside nearby? Are there any special places that you visit and enjoy?
Are there any foods that are local to your area?
Are there any local traditions or annual events that you would like to share? (These could be religious or cultural festivals, county show events or events relating to national festivals such as bonfire night.)
Maps and mapping
This resource includes a map of Africa and suggestions for looking at maps of Tanzania with your students. This could be the starting point for a more in-depth investigation into maps and mapping. Explain how maps are used to find our way and how scales are used on maps to measure distance. You could also task your students with making a map of your school or local area.
Sam Ntiro's painting Buguruni Village shows typical village houses in Tanzania. Use this painting as a starting point for a geography project looking at houses in different countries and how they are built. You could task students with constructing models of different types of buildings, exploring the properties of construction materials.
