Workshops/Talks on Development
Issues
for schools, colleges, community forums, social activists |
the
workshop/talk
The talks are designed as
an interactive session. Going by the experience
so far, visual stimulant of an original painting
facilitates a lively participation by viewers as
young as 6 years old.
Hunger, poverty, water shortage, child labour in
the Third World and racism, environment, fair trade
are some of the issues tackled. |
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how
it proceeds
Typically upto 10 paintings are displayed in
the background. Only such paintings which are
appropriate
for viewing by the particular age-group are selected.
For schools, titles of paintings are not told to
the pupils to start with. Instead they are asked ‘what
they see in a painting’ and discussions follow
on the issues raised in the paintings. Some basic
statistical data like population, number of absolute
poor in the world, urban growth in the Third World,
etc. are incorporated in the talk. [For example,
the population of Mumbai is more than three times
that of entire Scotland on a fraction of land-area.]
Contribution to the discussion is positively encouraged
from teachers and pupils. This has been found to
be quite substantial in the talks held so far.
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flexibility
Talks can be modified depending upon the average
age of the target audience. A particular
theme like festivals of India, can be the
focus of the talk if the institution desires
so, say, to coincide with an event planned
by the school.
There is a considerable flexibility in the way
of presentation , as also selection of topics.
The content of a specific workshop can be discussed
in advance.
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Select your package
The following packages are on offer but they can
be tailor-made to suit your requirement.
A single
session – This
is for a minimum of one hour with no break
An
ideal session to give a general idea about the
Third World for Primary 2 to 5
or
discuss one or two issues only for Primary 6 or 7
Two
sessions – One
hour each with a break of 10 minutes
This
would cover a number of issues in depth. If the
group is young [Primary 3-5], a live demonstration
on how to paint can also be included to keep children
engaged. Children are also welcome in this session
to draw. They enjoy it.
Three
sessions – One
hour each with 2 breaks of 10 minutes
This
would include discussions on original paintings
as well as a
partial demonstration
of a CD-ROM.
The CD-ROM contains 45 paintings on social issues
with
artist’s audio commentary on each painting.
It runs for 45 minutes. It can be viewed on a computer
and a projector with the help of speakers so that
larger images can be seen on a screen or a wall.
Only such images suitable for viewing for the target
age-group are shown selectively. [Equipment to
be supplied by the institute]
Such workshops have been conducted for schools,
colleges, university students, social activists,
parallel theatre enthusiasts, etc both in Scotland
and in India.
A questionnaire is circulated mid-way in a session
to facilitate participation. The answers are discussed
in the session [for package 2 and 3].
Another questionnaire at the end of the programme
is to be filled up by the participants by way of
feed-back on the programme.
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CD-ROM – A
sample demonstration of the CD-ROM mentioned
above can be seen by clicking the button below
[or on any page on this site]
CD ROM |
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A
sample of the paintings that can be shown in a school
and accompanying talk is given below. Click on the
thumbnail to see a larger version of the painting.
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cooking
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different
worlds
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What
do you see in the painting?
a woman cooking.
Yes.
What could be the fuel?..
Firewood is the fuel. She has to walk miles every day to get the firewood.
Trees are cut to get it. This is bad for the environment. But she has no gas
or electricity supply in the house. So she has to depend on firewood for daily
cooking. This type of cooking is slow. It takes hours. It is also not good
for her health. This way of cooking is common in the Third world esp in rural
areas.
So, in the third world, poverty degrades the environment. Just as wealth damages
environment here.
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What
all do you see in the painting?
...
Who do you identify with?
Girl blowing bubbles/girl on the computer…
What do you think the boy at the top left is doing?
...
Do you think he goes to school?
...
Do you know anyone who does not go to school?
...
Then the issue of child-labour is discussed backed up by statistics, how
children from poor families can not attend school as they got to work, etc.
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descent
of man
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No, my son, we do not
belong
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what all do you see here?
...
What
do you think the women at the top right corner are
doing?
Do you know what Dior is?
Do you think man has evolved from ape or has come
down?
Why do you think Charles Darwin named his work
not as Evolution of Man but as
Descent of Man??
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What
do you see in the painting?
A father and a son watching a game of cricket
Do you think they are from this country?
...
Why do you think so?
...
Do you think the boy would like to play?
...
Would he be welcome to join?
...
Do you have such children in your neighbourhood?...
These are migrants to this country. They look different,
they talk a different lanuage, they follow a different
religion.But they work here. They contribute to this
society....
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The second exodus |
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What
do you see in the picture?
...
Do you know that Moses led an exodus of his people?
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This is the second exodus to the cities.
The blue bubble shows dreams of rural people,
to go to city and make a fortune…there
are sky-scrapers...but there are also people
sleeping on the pavements…
Very
soon, for the first time in human history,
the majority of the world’s population
will live in cities. Millions now cram into
slums and shanty towns often in desperate
conditions. In Nairobi’s slums, on
average, 500 inhabitants struggle to share
one toilet...
What does this mean? How will the amenity-supply
be affected?
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off
to work
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needs,
not wants
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We see a woman here, walking in hot sun, barefooted,
with a child. She seems to be in a hurry.
She is off to work.
Do you think she is going to keep her baby in a
nursery or at a child-minder’s place?
The door behind her is shut. It is a large wooden
door.
May be it is the door of a house of somebody rich.
They are keeping the heat out and they are also
keeping the poor out….
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We see a woman here, may be in a desert, may be
by the side of a road cooking. Does she have a
permanent house like we have? Is there a TV, a
washing machine, a dish-washer, a fridge, a cooker?
No.
These are our wants, they are not our needs….
She seems to have enough clothing, a shelter and
some food to eat. They are needs….
What do you see at the top right corner? It is
an oil-rig….wealth…wants…
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| How others find it |
Schools
Mr Purandare came to our Primary School
to talk to a group of children
(P4-7) about citizenship, using his art work as
a focus for the talk.
Issues of poverty in developing countries, rights
and responsibilities and conservation were covered
by Mr Purandare. He was able to convey the ideas
well and pitched the delivery in a sensitive, responsible
manner.
Because he had used a selection of
his personal paintings to highlight the above issues
he
was asked to give a painting lesson. He demonstrated
to the pupils the idea ‘a picture paints
a thousand words’ and is a powerful and
valuable way to convey important messages.
This was well received by the pupils who enjoyed
listening to and watching him.
Mr Purandare is sensitive to the needs of helping
children understand the developmental issues
of others less fortunate than themselves.
- Head-teacher, Primary School
I would like
to recommend Mr Purandare’s
talks on developmental issues. He has given
several talks on life in India to my P2 classes
but his materials and presentation would be
suitable for all ages, including
adult.
We found the sessions very thought provoking
and he was able to give the children some real
insight into the problems facing so many.
- P2 Class Teacher
… the children… [and]
I too learned a lot from your talk. I wish
you had a book
of your paintings for us to use as an educational
tool…
- P7 Class Teacher
Some children are lucky and
have money and some are poor and don’t
have money. If they go to school they have
do it at night
and it is really really really hard work…
- P2 pupil
Some children in India don’t have many
toys… In India they eat vegetables ,
rice, chicken and fish...lots of children have
to work on farms and carry bricks…He
shoulded us some paintings…He painted
them hiself…
- P3 pupil |
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Students
and Community Workers
I think the way the theme and the topic are
chosen by the artist to increase awareness of
the social issues is very appealing to me.
- College Student, Liberal Arts
Great! Every picture is more effective than
a 10 minute documentary. Colours, balance of
pictures and meaning behind every picture are
wonderful.
- University Student - Media Studies
Visual story-telling and cultural narrative
in your work are fascinating. Your presentation
is utilitarian, there is no ambiguity and the
issues you tackle make uncomfortable viewing.
- Social Worker, Glasgow
As a people who rely on success stories to
continue being motivated to work for the change
we want to see in the world, it is important
to keep in mind the challenges and failures
of our work.
Northern NGO worker, Edinburgh
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