12 Jun 2026
A visionary self-taught artist whose instinctive talent has taken her from India to St Albans is looking for a studio space where she can create a very different kind of art school.
Fathima Hakkim, 34, who has both ADHD and autism, came to this country from Kerala to pursue her creative dreams and study for a Masters in children’s book illustration at Middlesex University.
Now married with a young son, she has subsequently built up a career as a book artist, while running an online platform – Studio Art Kin – for people who were told they simply weren’t the creative type.
The remarkable story of how she channelled frustrations with her neurodivergency and a domineering patriarchal society into her art featured in the St Albans Times back in April, and now Fathima is keen to embrace her next challenge.
“What I really want to start is a special art school. We already have multiple art schools here, and I went to all of them, only to find that although they’re teaching things like charcoal or watercolour, they’re not offering something so structurally strong that after their students finish they can go into the professional industry and start working. They’re more like hobby schools.
“What I’m looking for is just a space where I can have some tables and chairs with enough room for 20-30 students, maybe a whiteboard as well, and if there’s any extra room I can use it as my workspace as well.”
“Because I’m not technically trained I have broken it down in a way that everybody can understand it, so much so that it’s become a learning curve for me. I feel I created this because I wanted to force myself to learn even more, and I cannot teach something I don’t know.”
She has already created detailed guides to the different aspects of the artistic process as she sees it, which might be an 80-page hand-drawn book on face anatomy for example, breaking everything down into the basics.
“For example, a lot of students struggle with the space between the eyes. Sometimes it’s very far apart, sometimes it’s too close, but the gap is actually the size of one eye, and the width of the face is five eyes next to each other, and now I’ve explained that it’s something you will never forget.
“I teach how expressions work, how when you turn around one eye disappears because of the nose… and I’m preparing so much more as well. Each month I will cover different topics, so character design, body anatomy, how to exaggerate and manipulate a figure, gestures, colour, environments and backgrounds, editorial and campaign illustrations, that sort of stuff.
“It’s not even about skill. It’s knowing some basic stuff, and then you can take off from there. A lot of people spend so many years figuring this out, because if nobody’s going to tell you how to do it then you’re just going to draw and draw and draw until your brain does it from muscle memory.
“I really want to teach students who cannot go to university because it’s crazily expensive, but who really want to learn. I really want to help the community here, especially younger adults who are passionate about telling stories through art.
Fathima is determined that her classes will be highly affordable, and will even be offering bursaries to those students who display exceptional talent and passion but cannot afford the fees.
She envisions a six month course of weekly sessions with projects and assignments to complete in between, and each session lasting around three and a half hours, so is looking for somewhere that can accommodate this set-up.
“Essentially what I want is to have a space where I can quietly and calmly sit down and draw. Drawing without rushing, without hustling, without being anxious. I need to earn a certain amount of money, but I want to be able to offer these courses to a diverse mix of students who can afford to pay the fees.
“This dream means everything to me and I truly feel it has real potential, I now just need somewhere to begin making it a reality…”
If you know of anywhere suitable for Fathima to use as a combined studio and teaching space, contact her direct on Artkinbyfathima@gmail.com
