Concept

Artscape will give children from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to engage with each other in creative, imaginative and fun ways while exploring an area of Delhi. The children will express their experience and learning in a work of art. 

Rationale:

The groups of children coming together have completely different experiences of life in the city.  Privileged children, despite having means and access, tend to live in a bubble with little or no interaction with the world outside their comfort zone.  Children who are less privileged or marginalised may have greater exposure to the city but they lack the resources and opportunities of the privileged.

Artscape will give them a platform to interact with each other, an opportunity to explore Delhi’s history and culture together and to express themselves creatively in many different ways.

Objectives:  

• ·   Explore Humayun's Tomb and its surrounding monuments in a fun and meaningful way
•     Offer children from different backgrounds a context for interaction and learning from each other
•     Break down socio-economic barriers through creativity and fun
•      Inspire among children an appreciation for the built and natural heritage of our city

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Programme of workshops:

Weekly workshops will begin 7^th October 2012, based in and around Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Qila and the Sunder Nursery. They will be led by artist Ruchin Soni and educator Naira Jansen, supported by Nidhi Khurana and Charty Dugdale. The children will engage with the history, architecture and significance of the area through art, story, drama and other media. The approach will be creative, hands on and exploratory. Workshops will be held on weekends, each one will last three hours. A concept and design for the final art work will emerge after five workshops; focus will then shift to creation of this piece.

Impacts:

Connecting worlds

Every participating child will benefit from an innovative creative experience such as this. We hope it will give them a greater awareness of the heritage of their city and open their minds to the way others live and have lived.   For the “child in a bubble” the face at the car window will no longer be a mystery but someone s/he has shared a creative journey with, a journey which may one day inspire him or her to positive social action. For the less privileged or marginalised child the project will offer experiences of learning and creating that may otherwise have been beyond him or her, which will build self-confidence and impart useful skills for the future.  For all of the children a part of Delhi’s heritage will become alive and relevant.  And their handiwork will be in a space for us all to enjoy.