ARTREACH-KNMA TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS
ONLINE
June - November 2021
GARGI CHANDOLA
with Udayan Care
DHWANI SHAH
with Karm Marg
AL-QAWI NANAVATI
with Rainbow Homes
Welcome to the exhibition of artworks by children and young people from
Udayan Care, Karm Marg and Rainbow Homes!
These paintings, drawings, collages, masks, animations and paper sculptures were all made over workshops led by Teaching Fellows online, during the second half of 2021. It was amazing to see participants painting with found objects, making zines, learning printing techniques of monoprint and collagraph, delving into visual storytelling and animation through these engaging workshop series. Al-Qawi Nanavati, Gargi Chandola and Dhwani Shah created modules with interactive games, fun icebreakers and experimental techniques, bringing participants joy and confidence!
We hope you enjoy this exhibition and do leave us your feedback for the young creators -
Aarti, Khushi, Nihal, Krishna, Deep, Vijay, Shivam,
Gulnahar, Sonia from Udayan Care
Nargis, Alka, Pooja, Khushi, Raju, Vishal, Rihana, Simran, Geeta, Shama, Umresh, Khushi from Karm Marg
Nazrul, Irshad, Kundan, Sukar, Nargis, Asma, Jimadi, Ilima, Muskaan, Chandni, Tarannum, Shabeena, Anjali, Saraswati, Shaheen and Saddyak from Rainbow Homes
GARGI CHANDOLA with UDAYAN CARE
'From the very beginning the participants were curious and attentive. They were quick to adapt to a new situation if I threw a curveball towards them like asking them to find solutions incase of absence of some art material.
We did a few spontaneous word exercises and I found that their responses were sharp and observations often insightful.
I was very impressed at their intuitive understanding and comfort with technology.'
- Gargi Chandola
Between June - November 2021, Gargi conducted ten online workshops and one on ground workshop with participants of three different centres of Udayan care home.
Her modules focused on exploration of visual storytelling and using humour as a tool for expression. She conducted workshops around building skills of drawing, painting, crafts and making different kinds of artworks like paper mache masks, painted illustrations, comics, memes, handmade zines, paper and cardboard puppets and stop motion animations!
By keeping the tone of the workshops humorous and engaging in friendly banter, Gargi was able to create an open environment for children to express and imagine freely.
DHWANI SHAH with KARM MARG
'I distinctly remember that during the book binding workshop, while most kids struggled to make holes in the bunch of papers for Japanese binding, Shama went out and got a nail and a hammer and tried to puncture holes through the block of thick paper.
I wasn’t sure it will work too well without tearing the paper, but she followed her gut and tried it anyway and it worked well. She later helped some other kids too. I really appreciated her instinct for seeking better alternatives when stuck with a problem.'
- Dhwani Shah
Dhwani conducted ten workshops between June to Nov 2021 where her sessions focused on exploring different mediums and their materiality as a way of experimentation and play.
Participants created artworks using mark making with self devised tools, collages with found items, making and binding handmade books, collagraph relief prints, typography posters using leaves, monotone palette paintings, paper cut illustrations.
Dhwani also sent in art materials and picture books to the care home before each of her workshops which led to building of excitement towards the new mediums and created a diversity of materials, surfaces and resources to engage with.
AL-QAWI NANAVATI with RAINBOW HOMES
'When I received the ArtReach Fellowship I was thinking about all that I could offer to the students but, at the end of my fellowship, I feel they have taught me so much more.
They've unknowingly taught me to take a risk
with ideas, to be open to trying new things, to learning, to retaining and to nurturing our thoughts resulting in out of the box, amazing ideas and artworks.'
-Al-Qawi Nanavati
Al-Qawi's modules between June to Nov 2021 focused on bringing one new key skill in each workshop, either through the use of a new material or by diving into learning a new technique step by step. She conducted ten online and one on ground workshop.
Through the workshops participants from Rainbow homes drew emotive self portraits, played color theory games, painted with twigs, ropes, fingers and spoons, learnt to make watercolour and acrylic paintings, made paper sculptures, collages, used paper and cloth to weave and embroider and created illustrated stories.
By introducing them to many kinds of artists, processes and materials Al-Qawi instilled confidence in the participants to explore art freely and joyfully.
Teaching Fellows 2021 (Second Phase)
Gargi is a visual artist based in New Delhi, India. Currently training in Pahari Miniature under the mentorship of a master artist. She is the co-founder of Post-Art Project, a multidisciplinary arts studio. Her work gravitates towards themes of feminism, personal history, violence, socio-political hierarchy and she often articulates these in her works by filtering them with a touch of humour. She creates paintings (primarily on paper), illustrated zines and large scale murals.
Dhwani is an illustrator and graphic designer from Mumbai. She studied design from Sir J.J. School of Applied Art, Mumbai and National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She enjoys working on editorial illustrations, non fiction comics and publication design projects. She has designed multiple hand-made books and children's books for the publishing house, Tara Books and is presently teaching at Dot School of Design, Chennai.
Al-Qawi is an artist and art-educator based in Mumbai. She has completed her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Teaching has been an integral part of her professional life and she has taught in various capacities at institutions like: the Project Art Teaching Residency USA, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA, the Metropolitan Schoolhouse, USA, Space 118 Residency, India, Aga Khan Youth Board, India, among others.