Sketches, Scribbles, Drawings, by eminent artist K.G. Subramanyan, currently on exhibit at The Harrington Street Arts Centre is an extremely interesting collection of art that brings together the artists various experiences. The artwork also lends itself to various interpretations and story building.
On the 26th of February, eight children from Anandan, one of the centres that PeaceWorks conducts the Share Stories Open Minds program visited the gallery. Prachi and Dishita, two volunteers at PeaceWorks, accompanied them. Prachi has been working on art activities with the children and Dishita has been concentrating on storytelling.
The children first took a look at the paintings. They were encouraged to take their time with each painting, and most instantly had favourites. Prachi and Dishita then told them about the artist, his life and his work. They also explained how a gallery works, what a catalogue is and some techniques and mediums that artists use. The volunteers talked about inspiration-what inspires an artist to create art.
The children also looked at the catalogue for the exhibition, and the book on the murals done by the artist. They were then given a sheet of paper and a pencil, and asked to go find their favourite painting- the one that appealed to them most and write a few lines about what they felt about it, or what it meant to them.
One of the children wrote a whole story about the painting she chose. The story described how a couple experience the loss of their child. One wrote about how the painting she chose was about nature. Another child picked a sketch with monkeys. She wrote about how the monkeys in the sketch like coconuts very much, particularly the coconut water.
‘I have decided that from this day on, I want to be just like K.G. Subramanyan’- this is what Nikita, the youngest in the group had to say.
– Paroma Sengupta