JOIN USOpening up a world of colours
Nearly 200 special needs children who had missed school for the last two years got an opportunity to open out their hearts and share their thoughts and feelings through art over the past month. The children are part of the Spastics Society of Karnataka, and were thrilled at the opportunity to work with 12 Indian artists, capturing the world through their eyes.
Priya Rao, Associate Director SSK, says that while the pandemic kept their children within the confines of their homes, “they continued to express their feelings through simple activities planned by their teachers, sharing their emotions, especially anxieties, through music, art, and stories.”
The artist mentors conducted workshops through virtual sessions and direct sessions, where children were trained in various mediums of art like collage, pastels, caricature, charcoal, abstracts, still life, 3D, watercolour, etc. Around 50 workshops were held from October 2 onwards and were supported by the Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI).
While art therapy has been used extensively in the West, there are few institutions in India that have used art for children with special needs. This project was conceptualised with the intention of introducing different art forms to the children, to use art to stimulate empathy towards the earth and the environment, to sensitise the art community on how to engage with the children, and also to showcase the talent that was spotted during these interactions, says Priya Rao.
No stereotypes
Ms Rukmini Krishnaswamy, Director SSK, says one must clear away misunderstandings that persist so strongly about artistic ability. “‘I simply don’t understand art’; ‘I can’t draw a straight line’; ‘I never had any training in art’ — such statements have little or no relevance to art in the lower primary school,” she said in a workshop to the artist mentors at the launch of the project.
Subina, an artist based in Singapore and Bengaluru, used Gond art, a tribal art form practiced mainly in Madhya Pradesh. She also introduced the work of Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky, a Russian painter and art theorist who extensively used the motif of concentric circles.
Subina says it was interesting to note that some of the children struggled to draw a complete circle. “They had previously drawn spirals so they were drawn to sketching that. And some found it difficult to close the ends to meet the starting point of the circle as the hand/wrist twists when a circle is drawn. But eventually, they got the hang of it and in the next session they were colouring the paper plates with their chosen colours.”
It is interesting that the children did not stick to stereotypes of colours and corresponding moods. Subina says, “The colours they chose were not just a yellow for happiness. Some even chose black as their happy colour. And most of them very clearly said 'I don't feel sad or unhappy!' That was a learning for me as the teachers explained that children on the spectrum tend to stay happy and not be drawn into low feelings.”
Preethi Ajit, whose specialisation is Zentangles and acrylic, says that after initial hesitancy, the children opened up and were comfortable enough to share stories about their great-grand uncles and aunts, and would share pictures of what they had created. “Seeing the remarkable change in their confidence and the growing belief in their own capacity to create art has been a very special experience indeed. The teachers helped reiterate our message — no art is bad art. Art should make sense to you and bring joy.”
Namrata Cavale is a multi-disciplinary designer working with textiles, crafts, and social enterprises. She says her group of children called themselves the ‘Cool Cats’ and in each session, they created one composition around the theme of the natural world such as — 'Sleeping under the stars', 'Clean Green Eco-city' and 'Underwater wonders'.
Namrata says considering the “heavily tactile nature of art, working online was a challenge — so we created step-by-step photo tutorials for use during and after class — so anyone who had missed a step could refer and complete the work after class too. Additionally, the children and parents could watch me demonstrating and follow along.”