More Than a Colouring Book: My Artourney from a Single Story to a Celebration of Heritage
From Wholeness to Fragmentation
The first time I realised my history had been rewritten, I was sitting in a British classroom. Yes, I was born in England, but I didn’t grasp the concept of race until I turned eleven, after returning from Ghana.
At home, I was raised to be fiercely proud of my dark African skin, the rich history carried in my surname and my Ghanaian heritage. My country’s flag hung proudly in my household, a daily reminder of where I came from. My parents made sure I visited Ghana often, so my roots stayed alive.
Those formative years in Ghana grounded me in reality where Blackness was the norm, professional, powerful, beautiful, and inherently worthy. In the UK that reality was systemically dismantled, like washing away the vibrant patterns from a kente cloth until it was bare.
The history we were taught was black and white, literally and figuratively. Africa was presented as a single country, all black people as descendants of slaves and our story confined to one month of reflection so it ‘never happens again’, even though it is still happening, in some environments more subtle, others more direct. This narrative did not just erase my heritage; it reduced it to trauma.
This chasm was a profound betrayal. The education system didn’t just omit my heritage, it rewrote it, stripping away agency, joy, and accomplishment. A trauma-based curriculum mirrored tokenism in media, leaving me othered and forcing me to defend the dignity I knew was my birthright.
I realised then that, if the classroom could not tell the full story, I had to be the change I wanted to see. My identity is not a footnote in someone else’s textbook, it is a tapestry of resilience, brilliance and joy that deserves to be seen in full colour.
My Artistic Journey
I have always wanted my words to hold weight in the world. Words can alter people’s perception and create new understanding, and I believe that is the greatest legacy to leave behind. Hence, I went into a profession where I was told that “all lawyers have are their words”. I quickly realised, as a trainee solicitor, I had conflicts with the morality of the profession; I was a private client solicitor with work in immigration, employment, family and criminal law. What I took away from that chapter was that I enjoy law in theory, not in practice.
I then began my new chapter as a teacher in Citizenship; this is a subject where law and politics are merged. Even as a teacher I experienced the same realisation replicated for a new generation. Children were being taught ‘mutual respect’ for other cultures they could not truly see represented. This was not an oversight; it was a failure to weave a global presence in a meaningful joyful way.
That’s why my brand’s name is a purposeful fusion: ‘Art + Journey = Artourney’. It represents my belief that creativity is a voyage into our own stories and a bridge to understanding others. The journey became my response to the single story I was fed.
As I have grown older, I have come to appreciate the universality of art as a tool for connection. Yet, for the Black community, this potential is systemically stifled. We are vast with countless languages and cultures, but mainstream narratives reduce us to a damaging monolith. It is an undeniable truth that those in the community are persistently portrayed as ‘less than’ through tropes of broken homes and struggle, a reality which no amount of data can outweigh. This is the culture I grew up in. I witnessed the Black character in a horror film die first, deemed expendable, and where the Black reality TV contestants were token additions, set up to fail against Eurocentric standards. In this landscape, the profound power of representation becomes clear. When someone sees their familiar hairstyle or food in a product, it is not a minor detail. It ruptures the monolith, creating an instant and powerful sense of belonging.
Delectable Traditions: Where Heritage Meets Art
Delectable Traditions is my debut product: a colouring book designed to highlight the similarities within and between the African and Caribbean communities, using art as a bridge for conversations and a tool to foster bonds.
The book deliberately challenges trauma-based narratives; you will find no struggle within its pages. Instead, the illustrations are infused with the magic of culinary heritage. From the rhythmic pounding of fufu to the fragrant filling of a samosa, the illustrations create an immediate sense of belonging and unity. The book showcases the beautiful diversity of our features in Afrocentric families, honouring mothers, fathers, and other relatives as the everyday heroes and cultural custodians they truly are.
Reclaiming Joy, One Story at a Time
Creating Delectable Traditions confirmed my deepest belief: art is our most powerful tool to rewrite narratives. It allows us to reclaim our stories, placing joy firmly at the centre. This colouring book is just one of many to come, some sparking discussion, others visual or auditory, all weaving together to build a community where our stories are nurtured, not narrowed. My deepest hope is that these words and works will pass into your hands, becoming living tools to teach, to connect and to celebrate.
Glenda Obeng, founder of The Artourney, is an educator and creative director focused on holistic representation.
