Seventeen-year-old Shaivi Golyan, an
award-winning international artist, is working towards securing the future of
India’s rich arts and crafts history.
In a world being taken over by
machines and AI, Shaivi strives to preserve the essence of humanity connected
with the art-making process. Arts and crafts in any form– whether it be block
printing, weaving, or metal work– are fundamental to understanding India’s rich
history. However, it is predicted that these crafts will lose favor in the face
of modern technologies and changing demand. Nevertheless, there may still be
hope since this inspiring social entrepreneur and artist has taken the reins!
Shaivi has founded the ART (Arts
Revitalization and Teaching) Initiative for Students of India, a social
initiative that brings a robust art education to underfunded and government
schools in India and saves the heritage of India from an untimely death. “The
way I understood my Indian heritage was through traditional practices of
Jaipuri crafts,” says Shaivi, “to be able to secure the future of these
legacies, it is absolutely crucial that we educate coming generations about the
history and the execution of these arts and crafts to be able to keep, what I
believe to be the best part of India, alive.”
After graduating from The Hotchkiss
School in Connecticut, USA, Shaivi decided to return to Jaipur, her birthplace,
to found this initiative as a way to pay respects to and show gratitude towards
the legacy Indian arts for being the starting place for her career in fine
arts. As she spends a year in The Pink City prior to returning to higher
education, Shaivi builds a road towards the future of India’s heritage.
In regards to the problems plaguing
India’s art-free education system, Shaivi shares, “After some research, I found
that there are two main problems: lack of awareness, and lack of funding.” She
elaborates, “after conversing with the administration of north-west Indian
public schools, I found that an art education hasn’t been considered important,
as compared to STEM fields, by the administration. Additionally, government
funds aren’t allocated in a way that an art program can keep running in the
long run.”
So, the ART Initiative for Students
of India’s plan focuses on three main aspects. Firstly, they made the schools’
administration and students aware of the numerous job opportunities available
in the Indian arts and crafts industry. Secondly, they work closely with a
school’s faculty to identify an art teacher who can carry out an art curriculum
developed by the ART Initiative for Students of India. Thirdly, to ensure the
permanent establishment of an art education at schools, the ART Initiative has
created an innovative business model. “We gain initial funding for these
programs through a government grant, as well as crowdfunding on Ketto. Then,
artwork created by students during ART Initiative’s program is printed on
products such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, dairies, etc and is sold on our
website. All of the profits we obtain from these sales are invested back into
the students’ art education. In this way, the programs set up by the ART
Initiative have the ability to support their respective futures,” Shaivi explains.
“Now that students have access to an
art education, they have the opportunity and exposure to join India’s community
of artists and artisans. This is how the ART Initiative for Students of Indian
plans to help keep art communities in India alive in coming times.”
After executing successful programs
at branches of Adarsh Vidya Mandir in Jaipur, and reaching 60+ students, the
ART Initiative for Students of India’s plan is spreading through more
government schools throughout Jaipur.
It is Shaivi’s hope for this program
to reach even beyond Jaipur!
“To support the ART Initiative for Students of India, I hope people would consider donating to our fund on Ketto and/or buying beautiful products from our website!” Shaivi says.
- Officers Times Bureau
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