Alag Angle Studio | communitywork

Alag Angle Studio, Nagpur, India

I express my sincere gratitude to Tanul Vikamshi, Founder and Teaching Faculty - Alag Angle Studio, and Lalit Vikamshi, Director - Alag Angle Studio, Nagpur, India, to allow and assist me in conducting art therapy workshop with high school students in Nagpur, India.

Through the course of the 7-days workshop, I took the students on a journey with the aid of art therapeutic based work that resulted in deciphering their genuine existences.

While visiting Nagpur previously, I along with other artists inaugurated the Alive 9 show by Alag Angle Studio students. The theme of the exhibition was their visual interpretation of the universality of social issues. I was amazed to be confronted with numerous profound artworks that defined several challenges at large, which are mostly ignored by the eyes and ears on a daily basis, for example women rights, female puberty, animal abuse, alcoholism etc.

For this workshop, I was interested in shaking students’ innermost forces to allow them to meet their true selves. Art Therapy is a discipline that defines art as a tapestry that is weaved through visual words. In a similar way, the work produced during the course of the workshop interpreted individual realities of each student.

Please follow the link:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/20699325/Art-Therapy-Workshop-by-Pakistani-artist-Hamida-Khatri

Day 1 | Alag Angle Studio

We started by our introduction and moved on with the idea of meditative drawings. We asked students to make a depiction that described their best quality.

It was amazing what the students made. Showed intensive pain and struggle, hopes and dreams, aspirations, and lost memories that became visible to the whole group.

We shared our drawings to the whole class and ended the session on a good note.

Day 2 | Alag Angle Studio

The second session focused on illustrating each student's live in a lifeline. They were given the hint of a river, road, lifeline, or the stretch of an arm.

We discovered each student's life journey, which led him/her to the present time. There were many wounds, which were opened during out reflective conversations.

Day 3 | Alag Angle Studio

The third session focused on a recurring memory and students were given the task to define that particular instance through art.

This indicated that many of the students had been through tough times in their lives and needed a place to release those recollections.

Day 4 | Alag Angle Studio

The first three sessions were process based to scrape over the unheard feelings, to make room for new, exciting and positive things to become part of the journey.

We decided to go all-spontaneous this time. We picked up on small small feedback from the students during the previous sessions and discovered that connectivity, bonding and companionship is the key to transforming their inner selves from hurt and displacement.

We made two person groups, asked each individual to work on transparencies, make firm eye contact and draw the person's face sitting in front of them. This exercise was to initiate silent dialogue between two individuals.

The important aspect of the activity was to instigate their unconscious levels in acknowledging their past, letting go of it and clasping to the positivity around them.

We observed that students enjoyed their invisible interactions with each other and created a silent bond with a complete stranger.

Day 5 | Alag Angle Studio

During the last session, one of the students mentioned some great words of a scholar while reflecting upon his work. This sparked an idea for Day 5 session i.e. working on self-mottos.

All the students were given colorful sheets of paper and were asked to come up with a word/tagline that they strongly believe in, that they follow whole-heartedly in their lives.

It was amazing to witness many such statements as a supportive element to emphatically carry on with their lives. Such statements included:

* Time is the best therapy

* I M Perfect (also read as Imperfect)

* Narcissist

* Silence

* Happy Friends

* Infinity

* My Dream Is Silent But True

* Perfect

Day 6 | Alag Angle Studio

Another most spontaneous and fun filled exercise we came up with for Day 6! We noticed that the studio space had this small corridor that led to another room. It seemed like a bridge that connected one room to another so we decided to use that space and asked all the students to stand together in the congested area, put a piece of sheet under their feet, hold a pencil between their toes and draw!

What amazing expressions did we witness that day and some amazing random sketches! Now who draws with feet? They all started questioning. By being present in that moment, going through the process, being close to each other, some being comfortable, some being shy and irritable, some lost in their thoughts; those were the sentiments that physically turned into scribbles on that paper.

We then retrieved back to our class space and discussed what our feet drew. It was surprising for many of the students to see their personal thoughts on the sheet of paper.

They all had fun they said and so did we!

We had a little time left on our watch to end out day's session so we introduced another exercise focusing on trust and support. We made two queues and asked each student to put a paper on the back of the person in front of them and draw what they felt at the present moment. The support of the person in front and transferring that filtered support to the person at the back made it all worthwhile for all of them. It made them realize that they are not the only ones, they are not alone, they have each other's back to hold on to.

Day 7 | Alag Angle Studio

The last day was the day they really showed their transformed selves. The whole process of going through the sessions led to seventh day of the workshop.

We gave them some material for making their self-puppets and asked them to represent themselves in the form of a moveable structure. It was fascinating to witness their strength and struggle with the material as it was hard to cut and mold but they really did it! They showed incredible self-structured pieces depicting their journey from being shy and discontent to being confident and free.

HAMIDA KHATRI

creative therapy platform