Artreach India launched its second Teaching Fellowship Programme in partnership with Udayan Care in August 2016.
Artist Vandana Kothari (pictured) is our Teaching Fellow. She is advised by a panel comprising: Atul Bhalla, Susanta Mandal, Kristine Michael, Anni K. Sharan, Akansha Rastogi and Kiran Modi. The Fellowship is supported by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. |
The benefits of the Teaching Fellowship would be hard to minimise in a few words, because it seemed to me that reaching within themselves and fetching those ideas and that talent from inside gave them [...the participants] an anchor that could very well persist for the better part of their lives. It was the first time that such attention and programmatic investment was focused on them; maybe more children could have made more drawings if the course was generalised, but that would've defeated the point. I don't think it matters much how many of these children will choose art as a career, though it'd be great if they did. To me, what mattered most via this idea was that creative attention be paid to their latent talent, possibly to nurture it further, but mostly to help them familiarise themselves with that shining, unique spot of talent they have. It's never easy to 'tell' a child to see this bright shining spot, whereas to have them reveal it to themselves is priceless and long-lasting! Also, most children from mainstream family backgrounds are used to appreciation and discovering/showcasing all that is best about them. It isn't as straightforward with our kids in Aman Biradari. I think this programme gave them that chance - appreciation, attention, discovery and showcasing, all in one.
Mansi Chaturvedi-Sharma TState Programme Coordinator, Dil Se Homes, Aman Biradari |
My understanding is that art brings forth a persons bhavna (emotions/ sentiment). Also that which we cannot share with anyone, we can express through art.
Sadyyak, 14 I enjoyed the workshops. It [the programme] taught me to draw and paint and also how to bring my own creativity into my work. Shabana, 16 |