“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher
A project ‘Art and Artists Across the Border’ is being organized by SAI International as part of Round Square initiative. The 3-month project which aligns with one of the six-ideals of Round Square, Internationalism, will be participated by more than 400 students across 30 Schools from 5 different countries like Oman, Bangladesh, Argentina, United Arab Emirates and India.
As part of it, SAI International hosted its 1st Round Square Schools collaborative online virtual session on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 with 100 students from 10 Schools. Students from Classes IX to XII took a look at important artists and artwork that changed and influenced art culture in their own country and across the globe. Students explored and analyzed artforms of different countries subjectively with a focus on elements of design, mastery displayed in the piece and any symbolism found. This activity promotes important life skills such as listening, observing and responding to multiple perspectives.
The first session was attended by students from Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai, Doon School, Dehradun, Mayo College Girl’s School, Ajmer, Assam Valley School, Tezpur and SAI International School, Bhubaneswar. The young students discussed about eminent artists like Andy Warhol and Georgia O’keeffe (USA), Oscar Claude Monet, Niki De Saint Phalle (France), Safaa Errnas and Malika Agueznay (Morocco), Ngoc Van and Nguyen Sang (Vietnam), Kavita Nayyar (India) among others. The students from AVS also discussed the architecture of ancient Indian.
In the second group, the participant students were from Schools like Sunbeam School, Lahartara, RKKG, Jodhpur, Trivandrum International School, Thiruvananthapuram, and Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun. The students shared information about International artists like Martin Bulinya and Joseph Mbatia Bertier (Kenya), William Twigg-Smith and D.Howard Hitchcock (Hawai), Kiran Manandhar and Shashikala Tiwari (Nepal) and Edvard Munch and Johan Christian Dahl (Norway).
Each of the activities culminated with an interesting game on guessing the artists. The young participants critically analyzed some of their famous arts, shared valuable information about their style, the history behind some famous paintings and about their personal life. The session presented students with an opportunity to expand their knowledge about artists of different countries and their impact on world history as well as develop an aesthetic sense and an inquisitiveness to learn more about Artists of the world. The participants will pick their favourite art piece and replicate it in their own creative way, which will later be displayed in an online gallery.
Having anappreciation for art and artists helps develop an admiration for each other and how we are all unique in our own way, the conversations of which can be continued outside the classroom. The next session will be held on June 22, 2020.
