It’s Saturday morning, and a group of kids, under the age of 10, trickles into Forum Art Gallery. They’re not here for a drawing or painting class though; they’re here to be introduced to the art of the French master Henri Matisse.
Over the course of the next couple of hours, they will learn about the modern artist’s life and his most famous works, discuss his use of colour and contrast, and the concept of the day, the ‘silhouette’. Later, they’ll get scissor-happy as they do an art project in the style of thegreat man himself.
Welcome to the world of art appreciation for young children. A growing trend in the West, the idea is slowly but surely catching on in India, where, perhaps, it’s needed most of all.
“Our country is so resource-starved — we don’t have quality art museums, and our school system just stifles artistic spirit,” says Praba Ram, who conducts art appreciation workshops. “Workshops like this provide a creative foundation for children, filling a gap and exposing them to art they may not otherwise experience.”
While she lived in the U.S., Praba, like many parents, volunteered to do ‘Meet the Masters’— style presentations on art appreciation at her daughter’s school. She is the founder of the popular blog Saffron Tree, which provides parents with recommendation and reviews of children’s books, and is a children’s writer and storyteller. So, upon returning to Chennai, starting the city’s first art appreciation workshops for kids seemed like a natural step. The monthly workshops focus on one artist at a time, exploring their works from different angles.
Art, then, is more than just a colourful distraction for tots. There is a growing awareness globally that introducing children to great art, and encouraging them to analyse what they see, opens up their minds in powerful ways.
“It can help develop cognitive skills and self-expression,” says Shruti Bhat, Bangalore-based founder of the popular Artsy Craftsy Mom blog which features a series of art appreciation projects, and author of the recently released book, Learn with Play – 150 + activities for year-round fun & learning . “It’s never too early or late to start showing your child great works of art. Have fun with it! Act out the painting, pose like the characters, write a poem about the artwork or make a game out of it. It’s a wonderful exercise in all-round education.”
There is a wealth of books on the subject available to parents on Western art. You have books that list artists and their greatest works (eg. 13 Artists Children Should Know by Angela Wenzel), others that weave the artist’s life and works into colourful stories (eg. Katie Meets the Impressionists by James Mayhew), and even books for toddlers ( Andy Warhol’s Colors by Susan Goldman Rubin).
But what of Indian art and artists? That’s what writer and educator Anjali Raghbeer herself found wondering. “I used to pick up books about Leonardo Da Vinci, Monet, Manet, and Degas in museums for my children but when I looked for books on Indian artists, I found nothing,” says the Delhi-based author. “That’s how the idea took seed; I wanted to bring stories about our artists to children here.”
Raghbeer has rectified the situation with her beautifully illustrated Looking at Art series on Indian masters such as Jamini Roy ( A Trail of Paint ), M.F. Husain ( Barefoot Husain ), and Raja Ravi Varma ( The Veena Player ), published by Tulika. “I understand the ethos and the history behind the artists, and then weave a story that is multi-layered,” she explains. And she hasn’t stopped there. Her Art Tales from India series tackles India’s wealth of folk art, exploring Madhubani, Bhil and Ganjifa. “Our rich heritage of folk art needs a way to reach the younger generation,” she says.
She’s not the only one. Bhat has done a series of step-by-step art appreciation projects on Gond, Warli and Madhubani art on her blog, and they’ve been so popular that she’s planning to release an e-book on folk art projects soon.
Now, Chennai-based senior artist A.V. Ilango hopes to take this focus on Indian art one step further by launching classes for children at his ArtSpace soon. And he wants to begin with temples.
“We need to teach our children how to look at our age-old temple art,” says the artist, whose upcoming book with artist and art educator Srivi Kalyan, Space, Line and Form looks at the ancient knowledge of Eastern cultures. “This is not about religion; these creations are multi-dimensional storehouses of knowledge.”
Whether it’s Van Gogh or Gond art, Matisse or M.F. Husain, there’s no dearth of resources for Indian parents looking to introduce their kids to the stimulating world of art appreciation.
