Workshops
The intent of our workshops is to help provide an experience of and explore a realm of learning possibilities using the Arts and how these can be used in working with children. It is also to challenge belief systems, push boundaries and create a symbiotic learning relationship within and with the world around. For this we introduce a vocabulary of creative arts-based techniques.
Some Workshops we have conducted
Amrit Somani Memorial Centre, Kolkatta, 2018
Amrit Somani Memorial Center (ASMC) is a private, nonprofit intervention center in Kolkata for children with Developmental Delays. At ASMC we applied the principles of the science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to teach autistic children in the center, home, school and community. What was interesting in this engagement was to see two absolutely different schools of thought coming together with the objective to re-imagine what it means to look at ways of creating empathetic therapeutic spaces for children with ASD. We challenged belief systems, we broke myths, we agreed to disagree and we celebrated differences. There are times in our lives where it is hard to say who is the facilitator and who is the student. One such experience where the right view precedes the method. This session in ASMC was truly in the spirit of inclusion- as we defined it to the gift of presence.
Heritage School, Kolkatta, 2018
The Heritage School, established in 2001, is a unique endeavour of the Kalyan Bharti Trust to recreate the ancient Gurukul tradition of India. Nestled in the lap of nature, the school provides an ideal atmosphere for learners to acquire and imbibe skills necessary for their physical, mental, social and intellectual development. The Heritage family has over 250 committed and qualified teachers. Their vast experience combined with the constant training offered to them at the Heritage result in lessons being taught differently, children being encouraged to come up with creative responses, and showing that learning is fun and interactive. In a two hour session to the entire team of teachers we together explored how children learn and the role of a facilitator in the life of a learner. The sessions for the primary school focussed on creative tools like storytelling, music, theatre and drama to enrich the learning experience in a classroom. The focus of the session with the middle and senior school teachers were to look at socio-emotional needs of a young adults though narratives and theatre.
International Play Conference, Bangalore, 2018
Snehadhara facilitated a workshop ‘Order in Chaos- Learning through Multi-Arts and Play’ at the International Play Conference. The focus of the workshop was to create an empathetic learner led play space using artistic media. What was meant to be a workshop with 25 children and 15 adults landed up being a session with over 100 plus participants.The participants of the workshop were educators, teachers, college students and children from Ashraya Ashraya Disabled & Rehabilitation Centre and The Marthoma Opportunity School. It was hard to tell who the child was and who the adult was. The International Play Conference 2018 creates a platform where Play and Human Development can be explored and experienced through various panel discussions and interactive workshops. It seeks to promote contextually relevant research and practices on play. It further facilitates collaborations and networks of organisations working in the play and development space. This 2 day conference was organised by Headstreams in collaboration with St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Christ University, Smt. VHD Central Institute of Home Science and Gudgudee. Naveen Thomas Headstreams International Play Conference 2018. For Sumathi and Gitanjali this experience would stay as one of their best facilitation sessions where clearly as facilitators they have nothing much to do besides holding the space that was compassionately created by the group.
Shraddha, Chennai, 2018
When we deny the reality of change, life becomes an endless struggle. When we embrace it, our minds become wise and our hearts tender. Impermanence isn’t later, it is now. Squeezing uncomfortably through the narrow doorway of now, we don’t know whether we are coming or going. Impermanence is not only loss, it is also change, and change can be refreshing, renewing. Practice isn’t so much a matter of changing or improving the conditions of your inner or outer life, as a way of fully embracing and appreciating those conditions. Nothing appears unless it appears in time. And whatever appears in time, appears and vanishes at once. Time is existence, impermanence, change, loss, growth, development, the best and the worst news at once.Each one of us are somewhere in the middle of a long walk through varied terrain. Our task is to stay alive to the changes in that terrain and to trust the path as it appears before us, rather than impose our map on it. In welcoming transformations, we discover a greater truth that shows us a new way of trusting the very change we once thought a problem. When the field appears fallow, we must learn to trust what’s going on underground, in the dark, invisible to us. In fact it is essential that along with the lightening comes the quiet dark, when radiant bursts are taken in and made a part of a whole. When we stop clinging to the known and allow ourselves, our dreams to become instruments of change, we learn to practice action at the deepest level. In these moments we must risk taking a joyful leap with no guarantee of being caught as we fall. All we can rely on, after the joyful leap, is the reassuring discovery of what truly sustains us. A Saturday well spent with the students of the 3rd Batch of Shraddha.
SDMC, Delhi, 2017
We traveled to Delhi with the story of Kottavi Raja. A session with the children of 3rd to 5th Graders at SDMC allowed us to understand the work done by I am a Teacher Foundation which has adopted the school to re-imagine learning. I am a Teacher – Fellowship programme at South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Primary School, Police Colony, Hauz Khas, is an attempt to recognise and deeply engage with the possibilities of change and improvement in the existing system. It is aimed at transforming classrooms and schools and developing them as more caring spaces where each child matters. The major objectives of the project are to increase enrolment, ensure regular attendance, upgrade the physical and social environment of the school and transform the primary classes into experiential classrooms for deeper learning with an integrated curriculum and empowered teachers. Post our session with the children which had the IAT fellows and teachers participate as well, we met the team of facilitators at the organisation to share best practices of learning facilitation and re-imagining classrooms using creative interventions.
Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, 2017
Snehadhara presented a session on ‘Breaking Boundaries’ to the post graduates and graduates of the department of Human Development at Mount Carmel college, Bangalore. 100 plus students participated in the session and it was encouraging to observe how the youth in the colleges look at the role that they have to play to impart the change in the way that the children learn. We hope that the students recognise their potential to be the change maker and bring about the change that we wish to achieve.
Association of Experiential Education, Montreal, 2017
At the AEE Conference, we presented a 3 hour workshop titled ‘Multi arts and Play to build empathetic inclusive learning spaces’ that brought together a diverse group of practitioners who together explored various art forms. The intent of the workshop was to see how best practices in re-imagining classrooms using creative interventions could be shared. It is interesting to see how co-creation of classrooms and learning facilitation seems to be the need in systems of learning across the world.
Ushering the PGP Batch of 2017-2019 at IIM Bangalore, 2017
We got an opportunity to share the Snehadhara Foundation story with the incoming PGP Batch of 2017-2019 at IIMB. The intent of this engagement was to look at how they could contribute towards a more responsible society. Each one on the panel had a story to tell as they shared their journey- a story of change, a story of risk , a story of inclusion , a story of learning facilitation. The famous quote by Anthony Hopkins “If you don’t go when you want to go, when you do go, you’ll find you’ve gone” paraphrased by Vinayaga Raman got the group to wake up to their calling. Ramesh Agarwal in his classic style got the group to see “If you want to do something different, you have to actually be different”. Mohan Sundaram shared “Perspectives of the social sector” and got the group to look at social sector from a market systemic lens. “Imagine a world in which every child, regardless of ability, learns in a happy and empathetic space. We can make this world come true. How? Through the Arts – which are the natural home of empathy and joy.”…our Executive Director Gitanjali Sarangan. The PGP students got to experience multi art forms as they danced, sang and heard stories together.
Reussir Trust, Bangalore, 2017
Snehadhara facilitated a four-hour workshop on Reimagining Classrooms Through the Use of Multi Art Forms on November 25, 2017 at the Reussir Trust, Bangalore. The group comprised 20+ teachers and special educators working with different populations of learners. The workshop focussed on experiencing multi- art Forms, the science behind it , and looking at academic content artistically.
Gopalan National School, Bangalore, 2017
The session at GopalanNational School gave us an opportunity to examine how we understand our role as a facilitator, how does creativity bring strength in classrooms and what is the stamina one needs to bring about a change in classrooms.
ENTRUST DISABILITY SERVICES, EDMONTON, CANADA,2017
We presented a workshop titled ‘Arts Based Therapy as a complimentary Healthcare Practise- an Eastern Perspective’. Our Founder and Executive Director Gitanjali Sarangan conducted the session with Special educators, Mentors, Art Therapists, Psychologists , Counselors and Practitioners from Entrust, Chrysalis , Alberta Health Services, Thenina- Nina Haggerty centre for the Arts. It was interesting to see the wonderful work each one was doing and their keenness in understanding Mindfulness and Practice in therapeutic and clinical settings. The action research projects conducted at the Direct Care space of Snehadhara presented itself as a capability demonstrator for working with children with special needs using ABT. What the group exhibited was that Diversity is the art of independently thinking together and The Arts is an experience, a learning that unifies this diversity.
Sankalp, Chennai, 2016, 2017
Conducted a two day long workshop with a team of 42 professionals at Sankalp, Chennai on ‘Creative Interventions in working with special needs’.
Gopalan International School, Bangalore, 2017
‘Re-imagining classrooms using the Arts’ – the start of the workshops to influence learning facilitation with a team of 30 educators from Gopalan International School brought together experiences, views, ideas and possibilities of delivering academic content creatively. The group had teachers from grade 1-10. What was interesting was to see how immaterial of what subject one taught, the question of how can we influence the way we learn held the group together.
Tapovan, Bangalore, 2016
Tapovan School is affiliated to Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), New Delhi. Tapovan’s vision is to impart life skills by providing varied opportunities based on multiple intelligence. Sumathi Ramjee conducted a one day workshop on ‘Enhanced learning through the use of multiple Art forms’ with 28 teachers from the school and other centres. The session focused on self – experience of Art forms, working with the arts to deliver academic content and facilitation using the Arts. A discussion on ‘facilitation tips’ and session boundaries brought out the real time challenges in classrooms.
AATAPI, Gujarat,2016
Conducted a two day long workshop for the team from Aatapi, Gujarat on ‘Experience and explore a realm of learning possibilities using the Arts’.
SCAN-SPECIAL CHILD ASSISTANCE NETWORK, Chennai, 2016
A workshop on Arts Based Therapy was conducted at Chennai for special needs educators/caregivers and parents of special needs children. This group has got together to create and expand possibilities for the many children.
Hope Early Intervention Session, Bangalore, 2016
A beautiful session with parents of the HOPE family. The best gift that we can offer our child is by being present to ourselves . A session with Sumathi Ramjeewhere she brought to life the magical inner child in all of us. From voice to movement to dance to play to creating soundscapes to body percussion, the parents gave it their all. The participants shared that most of them forgot everything and connected to the child within. Our take home metaphor was ‘Possibilities’
APSA, Bangalore, 2015
The Association for Promoting Social Action or APSA is a rights-based, child-centred, community development organization working in Bangalore and Hyderabad since 1981 towards empowerment of the urban poor, especially with children in distress. Snehadhara has been engaging with the girls, using the arts as a medium to address their therapeutic goals. While, this goes towards preparing them to be able to perform and engage people in public, it also addresses the longer term goals of building self-confidence, positive body image, and body language and so on.
Brindavan Trust, Bangalore,2014
Facilitated parent workshops for Brindavan Educational Trust, Bangalore. Snehadhara conducted two parent workshops with the parents at Brindavan Trust titled ‘Experiential Learning using multi arts forms’ and ‘Understanding the young adults- The Role of Arts’.
Insight Academy, Bangalore, 2014
A teacher training workshop for 80 teachers. The focus of the teacher training workshop was to introduce the group to a vocabulary of creative arts-based techniques in planning classroom content and artistic tools in Drama and Theatre.
Bubbles Autism Centre, Bangalore,2013
Weaving a new journey -We conducted a weaving workshop for some of the teachers and parents of Bubbles Autism Centre titled ‘Basic weaving techniques’. It was a day long workshop at the centre where the participants were introduced to ring/plate weaving, frame loom weaving, straw and cardboard weaving. This was also attended by facilitators at Snehadhara. Along with weaving, it was an enriching experience for both teams to learn and understand the working styles with children at the two spaces.
HLC International, Chennai,2013
Facilitated workshops for the parents of the 7i initiative, at HLC International Chennai. Conducted workshops for the teachers and special educators at HLC International , Chennai on ‘Art in Education’.