Kochi: The Biennale 2022 Arts By Children (ABC) segment has become a rage, with various art creations exhibited at Art Rooms set up in two schools. The Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Njarakkal, and the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Kadamakkudy, are the venues where the creative visions of the children turned real.
A place where growth towards co-existence develops freely and in order, without fear, strife, or comparisons; only in such a place will the original creativity take shape- this was the concept behind opening the Art Rooms in the two schools one-and-a-half months before Biennale.
Besides Kochi and Ernakulam, Vypin too has thus become a part of Biennale. The help, care, and support of Vypeen MLA K.N. Unnikrishnan have been instrumental in making Art Rooms at the schools a reality.
Besides drawing and painting, a few installations are also present in the Art Rooms. Artist Blaise Joseph, who was the project manager of ABC and Art Room during the previous edition of the Biennale, has also given shape to this venture. He said that ABC and Art Rooms are the critical, upstanding projects of Kochi Biennale.
ABCs, especially Art Rooms, include teachers, parents, society, and the surroundings in a comprehensive manner without limiting to just children and classrooms. Blaise said that means of learning expand through arts, which is the idea projected.
The Art Rooms are for students from Class V to Class IX. A theatre artist and visual artist will take classes for at least one and a half hours weekly in the Art Room for the students in every class. There will be workshops for students as well. The Art Room will function centred on specified areas during holidays. Though Biennale is for four months, the Art Room will function for a year.
The Faisal and Shabana Foundation, with Biennale trustee Shabana Faisal as vice-chairperson, provides financial support to the project. Blaise said that the project has already received a broad welcome.
The Faizal and Shabana Foundation, functioning since 2007 to carry out various welfare activities on a global platform, has been associating with the Kochi Biennale since 2014. Dr Joseph Sebastian, Foundation Director, said all support is being extended for the Art Room project since it is being implemented in government schools. The project gives a unique experience, he said, after visiting the Art Rooms in Njarakkal and Kadamakkudy schools.
A continuous sculpture workshop will be held at Fort Kochi Cabral Yard as part of the ABC project from December 23. Over 50 artists will be attending the event. Students, including those from nearby schools and colleges, will also take part. The ABC’s bigger objective is not just limited to students.