Group of five smiling people standing on steps indoors, with one person holding a colorful book titled 'Imaginative and Curious'.

Projects

Explore a showcase of Kanj Nicholas’ diverse funded projects and collaborations with organisations, school, galleries, and community groups. Through these initiatives, she shares her passion for creativity while continually expanding and enriching her artistic practice.

  • Children working on a fiber art project with a large cardboard box frame covered in colorful fabric and yarn.

    2024 - 2026 / ‘Classroom as Studio’ Funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation

    A project inspired by the work of contemporary artists, which aims to develop a pedagogy of primary school teachers in reimagining the ‘classroom as a studio’.

    Kanj is working to support and mentor primary school teachers to enable them to take risks with their art teaching, introduce new practices and be bolder in exploring social issues with their pupils.

  • A woman with curly hair and glasses stands in front of a wall displaying colorful space-themed artwork in black frames at an art gallery.

    2024 / ‘Imagine If We Could Fly’. Funded by Art Council England, Project Grant

    A project to illustrate and write a children’s book encouraging limitless creativity. For Early Years children & families, the project included public engagement, creative play sessions in community spaces & an exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. A children’s story book and a mini-book of ‘Artcouragement’ were published, aiming to encourage children, parents and teachers to reimagine creative learning in homes, schools & community settings. 

    Through the characters in her book, Kanj invites children to think out of the box, colour outside the lines and break a few rules along the way! 

  • People viewing art exhibits in a gallery with high ceilings, wooden floors, and a balcony level. Various artworks are displayed on walls and panels, and some attendees are reading information and engaging with the art.

    2022 / ‘Kindness Is Free – Let’s Pass It On’. Funded by Arts Council with Creative Black Country for British Arts Show Offsite 9

    A collaborative art-science exploration into kindness within the community and the astonishing science of kindness. The project was multifaceted, with layers of public participation, workshops and the creation of a body of work. The project culminated with a collaborative exhibition at the Newhampton Arts Centre sharing the theme of kindness through visual artworks, workshop outcomes and poetry.

  • A woman sitting on an orange ottoman in an art gallery, holding colorful artwork and smiling. Behind her are nine framed, vibrant illustrations or paintings of tiger characters, each with various backgrounds and themes.

    2022 / Early Years Commission, Wolverhampton Art Gallery

    Commissioned artwork to engage families with young children visiting the gallery space at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Kanj created the characters Anya, Tiger and Flossie to encourage creative adventures in the gallery and created a body of artwork around these characters, this work would later inform her first children’s book ‘Imagine If We Could Fly’.

  • 2019 / 'Let's Talk About Fungi' at Boundary Way Project - Funded by Grow Wild at Kew Gardens

    Commission of artwork for an educational social media campaign raising awareness of the natural world beneath our feet. Kanj created a body of work for the arts and heritage project that highlighted the variety of fungi that thrived at Boundary Way Allotments.

    Kanj was invited to create artwork for Boundary Way Project’s ‘Sense of Place’ group exhibition, taking inspiration from the landscape and exhibiting

  • “It was an absolute pleasure working with Kanj on her children’s book ‘Imagine if we could fly’. A great children's book that is captivating with engaging and lovable characters. A story that is both enjoyable to read aloud or read silently, it’s full of encouragement. I would recommend it to both parents and children.”

    Kom Achall, Visual Artist & Street Photographer

  • “I had the pleasure of working with Kanj on her book ‘Imagine If We Could Fly’. This involved designing the book with Kanj’s vibrant and colourful illustrations. It was a joy working with Kanj who is professional and open to ideas and suggestions in a truly collaborative way. Oh, and she’s an amazing cook too, which is always a bonus!”

    Alex Vann - Artist, Designer & Musician

Three people smiling and posing for a photo on a sports field with a stadium in the background.
A woman sitting on a chair on stage with a colorful dance studio background projection titled 'Sky's the Limit' and 'FlexUs Dance Collective' and 'KS2 Dance Project.' She is holding a book and gesturing. The stage has pink lighting and there are tabl
Group of women viewing and discussing colorful paintings at an art gallery.