How Solomon Amu transforms school spaces through mural painting

In an era where learning environments are increasingly recognised as critical to student engagement and development, entrepreneurs are finding innovative ways to add value beyond traditional infrastructure.

One such innovator, Solomon Amu, the chief executive officer at Vision Educational Consult, is leveraging the power of mural art to transform ordinary school spaces into vibrant, inspiring environments, blending creativity with enterprise to enhance both aesthetics and educational impact.

Solomon, in 2002, was inspired to venture into mural painting and designs for schools, fuelled by his desire to create a beautiful and engaging learning environment for children.

“I noticed that many school walls and spaces were plain and not stimulating for young learners. Children learn better in environments that are visual, creative, and inspiring.

“This business allows me to combine art with education, helping schools transform their classrooms and playgrounds into spaces where children can learn, imagine, and grow happily,” he said.

The Edo State-born artist revealed that he started his business with little or no financial leverage, except for the small painting and design jobs, which he reinvested the proceeds back into the business to buy more materials and improve the quality of his work.

However, he said that within a space of two decades, the business has grown, and now has a seven-member team driving the success.

“Over the years, the business has grown in the number of clients, quality, and service expansion; we have many schools, churches, and organisations that desire our services.

“The growth of the business has been driven by passion for art, commitment to quality, and the desire to create inspiring learning environments for children,” he noted.

Some of his expansion plans include reaching out to more schools, introducing more educational designs and training more young talents.

Moreover, he aims to expand further into school playground designs, educational floor games, and environmental beautification projects for schools, churches, and organisations.

Solomon emphasised that what amplifies Vision Educational Consult’s voice in the mural painting space over others is its focus not just on decoration, but on creating educational and child-friendly learning environments.

“Our mural paintings are designed to support learning, featuring alphabets, numbers, animals, maps, Bible characters, and other educational themes that help children learn visually while in school.

“We specialise in school environments, which means our designs are carefully created to be age-appropriate, colourful, and engaging for pupils,” he stated.

To survive the accelerating inflation, he explained that his business adopts a strategy of careful management of our resources, by focusing on proper planning and budgeting to ensure that materials are used wisely and there is minimal waste during projects.

Besides, he disclosed that his team adopts mutual relationships with clients, suppliers, and customers.
According to Solomon, the mural painting business in Nigeria is gradually growing and becoming more recognised.

“Many organisations, schools, churches, offices, and even homeowners are now using murals to beautify their spaces and communicate messages through art.

“In the education sector, especially, mural designs are becoming important because they help create colourful and engaging learning environments for children. Studies show that well-designed school murals can improve students’ attention, creativity, and overall learning atmosphere,” he said.

He reiterated that the mural painting industry in Nigeria has **great potential for growth, especially in the education, corporate, and community sectors.

Speaking about some of the major challenges faced by the business since inception, he said that high cost of materials, limited capital, and lack of visibility, among others, have been a hurdle to the growth of the business.

However, Solomon emphasised that he has been able to overcome many of the challenges through hard work, staying committed to quality, and maintaining good relationships with his clients.

He counsels young entrepreneurs to believe in their dreams, trust in God’s guidance and have faith in their ability to succeed.