Oyo Projects – Social Art e.V. is an association of artists, cultural professionals, and other committed people. As a non-profit association registered in Germany, they share the wish to support street kids and young adults in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, by engaging them in artistic and creative activities. For all participating kids, Oyo Projects provides meals, medicine, and primary health care, and most of all, it offers a reliable contact person who takes their problems seriously. The main mission of Oyo Projects is to address the issue of participation in art, culture, and creative processes and to invite youths from low-income families who cannot go to school or study but are interested in art and culture or want to develop their own artistic practice. In this way, access to the art scene is opened up, the scene becomes diverse, and new, experimental artistic practices emerge. Kids and youth can strengthen their self-confidence, learn how to deal with their emotions, and overcome traumata by exploring their artistic skills. These experiences enhance their resilience and prepare them for their future lives. Oyo Projects is raising awareness and encouraging discussion about the street kids’ precarious situation through public exhibitions, street art and interventions. Special programs and supportive formats are organised for particularly talented children and young people. For example, Oyo Projects has produced an album with participants, created large-scale murals throughout Kinshasa, and organised concerts.

Oyo Projects works with various local and international partners in long-term partnerships. This creates a stable local network for the long-term support of youth and young artists in Kinshasa. Since the beginning of 2023, Oyo projects, in collaboration with the non-governmental Congolese organisation Option ONGD, opened their own cultural center in the Bandalungwa district of Kinshasa.
In its critical approach to the aid sector in developing countries, Oyo Projects reinforces informal learning. Instead of imposing Western concepts and solutions, the project wants to create a space for experimentation and exchange to explore new strategies: how to connect local means with international concepts by deconstructing the (post)colonial power structures.