Footprints of Hope: telling stories of resilience through art
Footprints of Hope: telling stories of resilience through art
18 February 2025
Udiri is an ESGmark® Certified brand based in Lagos, Nigeria, dedicated to transforming lives through sustainable craftsmanship. Their mission is to empower marginalized communities, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, by providing them with opportunities to create, earn, and thrive. Through Udiri’s unique buyback program, these artisans produce beautiful, handcrafted pieces that carry stories of resilience and hope, while earning a fair income to support their families.
‘Footprints of Hope’, pictured right, is especially meaningful to Udiri’s mission. It’s set on 5,600 pieces of hand-rolled paper beads crafted by Udiri's artisans. Speaking of the artwork, Udiri’s Founder and Creative Director, Anthony Nsofor, says:
“Since establishing our buyback program with the artisans, we have received an abundance of hand-rolled beads. The bead-making process has been deeply therapeutic for the artisans, as it’s a key part of their journey and resilience. We quickly found ourselves with more beads than we could use for jewellery alone, which led us to consider a new way to keep the women’s work engaged and impactful. From there, the idea emerged to layer these hand-crafted beads on cotton canvas, using the medium to tell stories of resilience and creativity through a distinct art form.
Each bead symbolises resilience, and the entire piece tells a story of hope and the lasting impact that they hope to leave behind—a journey through challenges, but always moving forward. The women who created these beads have poured a part of themselves into every piece, and their work truly inspires everything we do at Udiri.”
‘Footprints of Hope’ is part of Udiri’s collection of collectible works of art. Each piece is unique, layered with beads made by the women Udiri partners with, and comes with a certificate of authenticity to underscore its value as a one-of-a-kind creation.
Udiri is excited to share ‘Footprints of Hope’ with collectors who appreciate artwork that carries a story of resilience and empowerment. Any art houses or collectors interested in learning more can get in touch with Udiri's team at contact@udiri.com or contact us for an introduction.
To learn more about Udiri, head to our Q&A with their Founder and Creative Director, Anthony Nsofor. Here, Anthony shares his vision for Udiri, explaining how circular principles and social impact are woven into the business to empower internally displaced and refugee communities through meaningful design.
You can also learn more about Udiri’s buyback scheme, the bead-making process, and the impact on Udiri’s artisans through Ladi’s story below.
About ESGmark®
ESGmark® is the community for people and organisations who care about the planet and society. We support organisations to credibly demonstrate and improve their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials. The ESGmark® certification is a symbol of trust and distinction which allows consumers to identify organisations who believe in and act to deliver a fairer, more sustainable future.