Category Archives: Service

The team at Morgan Stanley wanted to do something special and different for their volunteering day. There were many objectives to achieve – team building, having fun along with being able to make a difference in someone’s life.

They decided to brighten up the walls of a hospital with the help of the Art for Akanksha team.

We took the theme of ‘things that make me happy and things that I’m grateful for’ and opened it out for brainstorming in both the teams and came up with an interesting list of moments that we all feel grateful for. It ranged from family, friends, sunshine to education and food and music to playing football or feeling your hair in the wind as you cycle!

We took this list of a mix of serious as well as the whimsical into simple sketches, which were painted on 35 canvases and through a serious of workshops, got over 200 employees from two of the Morgan Stanley offices to paint on them.

The workshops were simple, fun and for most of the participants really surprising. They surprised themselves and each other with what they could do with colours. And we hope that the art brightens up many hospital walls!

We are back again! This art activity is especially for those children who love to get messy. It’s about teaching them that art can be created out of even the biggest mess, and how they can explore, see things differently and develop new ideas through art.

Suitable for 5 to 8 year olds

Materials Needed:

• Cartridge paper
• Black markers
• Pencils and erasers
• Primary colors
• Brushes

Method:

Take some paint in your brush and put it on paper. Add a couple of colors and then a little water. Hold the paper and let the paint move around till it looks like a mess!

Wait for it to dry.

As the sheet is drying, pull out a pre-painted / dried sheet of paper. Ask your child to look really hard. Can they see anything in there? Help by starting – “Oh, I see a giraffe! Let me outline it with a marker.” Before you know it, you will see an entire scene in that mess!

Once their sheets are dry, let them start looking. Let them outline it with a marker.

Don’t forget to appreciate their outstanding creativity!

Thoughts and After Questions:

Was it easy or was it difficult? When you really look hard, you can see amazing things!

The Art for Akanksha workshops create a common platform for children and adults from different sections of the society to interact with each other. The sessions empower each of them with the knowledge, that no matter how different they are, they have the same potential.

Hey parents, here is an interesting activity to do with your children, we guarantee loads of fun! And all it will take is a bit of imagination and some colors!

Suitable for 5 to 8 year olds

Material needed:

• Cartridge paper
• Styrofoam bowls
• Pencils that are blunt
• Paints
• Brushes
• Rough paper/ newspaper
• 

Pre-work:

Begin by showing them a print that you have made! Ask them to guess how it was made. Sometimes things look very complicated but they really are not!

Method:

Let the child take the Styrofoam bowl and with a pencil (which is not too sharp) draw flowers on them. They have to put a little pressure on the bowl so that it leaves an impression. They should fill the entire space with design leaving a few gaps here and there.

With a brush, apply paint on the design and gently place it on the paper. They will need to do this a few times before they get a hang of the process and the prints really start looking clear. Do a step by step demo so that the child understands.

Thoughts and after questions:

Did you think it would be so easy? What did you learn? This is called printing and it can be a lot of fun. Can you think of where you’ve seen printing? Clothes, books… there are so many examples, which you can show them to connect the dots!

The Art for Akanksha workshops create a common platform for children and adults from different sections of the society to interact with each other. The sessions empower each of them with the knowledge, that no matter how different they are, they have the same potential.

Rian’s Room

Rian wanted his room painted. It needed to capture what was important to him. The designer working in his home as well as his mom, simply could not put a brief down. We got the chance to meet, see the room and hear the story he wanted depicted. It had to have superman, show his home planet as well as earth, had to have him zooming to rescue someone, a building on fire was a must, and of course an alien spaceship!

Art for Akanksha to the rescue!! We can paint anything on anything!

So with a tiny team we helped Rian with a few sketches, got him to do research and find reference images as well as work on his own sketch and then sent in a more stylised design of what we could do for him.

2 akanksha alumni worked with him through the day to paint his wall and were joined by his mom, dad, nani and sister as well! Each brought in their own way style and philosophy as well as additions to the mural. Rian’s sister even added a tower with Rupanzel’s hair flowing down!

What started as a simple superman to the rescue story evolved and unfolded before us – there were pancakes on fire, spongebob’s home, a catapulting ice cream store and many other such additions which made his wall and his room a special little part of the home.

The experience was one which gave Rian a chance to be a part of the process from start to end, pushed him to express his thoughts, to be fine with the understanding that ideas evolve and change and grow as you work on them as well as to make him see that its important to push yourself to do things you’re not always confident about.

If you want a mural painted, get in touch with us. We’ll help you create a story of your own.

Book reading, furniture painting and fun galore

Art for Akanksha’s summer workshops at Ashok Tower teed off once again this year. The children tried their hand at furniture painting as they learnt its nuances, different art techniques and introspected on some incredible Dr. Seuss quotes. Oh the places they went and the stories they shared! They went where “It’s opener there in the wide open air,” because they wanted to fly and soar. They discovered their super powers and donned their super hero look. Vir – the super climbing man, Ahaana’s super hero name was ‘Flexi’, Tara – the Mathemagician, Arishka – whose super power was her ability to sing and enchant others! And so very many more… The book reading sessions set the pace for the day, with the kids enacting their favourite parts. The kids were so excited to see their piece of art on the furniture that they couldn’t wait to take them back home and proudly display it to their families. We were happy to receive messages from mothers to let us know that their kids had a blast and were eager for more such art activities in the future.

For information on art/ birthday party workshops do mail us at art@akanksha.org

At Art for Akanksha, we believe that art can be a special way of bringing together children from different spheres of society, empowering each with the knowledge that no matter how different they are they still have the same potential.

Art for Akanksha empowers children from low income communities with a powerful art education, provides art-related career opportunities for Akanksha alumni and generates revenue through high-quality products.