Students will create a series of images depicting an ideal man through a series of visual art games and interactive processes, challenging their notions with each iteration. They will then locate this new image within a reimagined world, recreating this new world through written, embodied and visual forms of expressions.
The project will bring together a group of key youth stakeholders from schools across the
city and youth leaders from NGO partners, who will then drive conversations in their schools and communities on masculinity and gendered constructs. They will co-create a new image of an ‘ideal man’, and then challenge these expectations of masculinity through a series of visual art games and interactions.
This initial dialogue will lead to a second phase of interactions at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata where they will learn how to create scenarios that express their understanding of masculinity today and express these narratives through the written word, and visual and embodied forms of expression. Each school will then have 2 weeks to develop these creative responses which will then be exhibited at the Goethe Institut Kolkata.
The 2 week exhibition will be a lab for bringing together students, their parents and their communities to collectively debate and discuss how ideals of masculinity have shaped their lives, creating a platform for the students to voice their concerns and hopes.
This project will be an opportunity to expand the dialogues around the topic of 'Image of Men' across schools and communities and engage young people to then build their own creative expressions and visions for the future in response to these critical conversations. The workshops especially will probe ideas of masculinity as a spectrum, and as it is encountered and practiced in our societies -engaging with diverse artistic practices.
Hamdasti
Hamdasti, meaning partnership in Persian, is a non-profit arts organization based in Kolkata, India that develops collaborations between artists and communities. They believe that art and design play a critical role in creating public platforms for dialogue, interaction, civic participation and social engagement.
ThinkArts
ThinkArts was founded in December 2013 to facilitate high quality, transformative arts events for children and young adults, based on the belief that regular creative experiences are essential for children to develop their imagination and emotional intelligence. They have reached thousands of children and young people across India through their work in schools, museums, heritage spaces and theatres. Think Arts has collaborated with over 75 partners across India and internationally to bring a diverse programme of literary, visual art, dance, theatre and story-telling events to children and young people in several cities across India.
