Re-use of water reservoir as cultural space/ Sultanpet
Sense of “Placeness”
Rediscovering neighbourhood & enabling lost cultural expressions
An Arts education project with grade 4/5 in Sultanpet govt school, Nandihills
Premise
CAN a government school play the role of a cultural tool to re-discover the “place“, re-instil” local “and reinforce sense of “coexistence “of community with persistence of place?
School and context
In the road ring around the Nandihill, lies a charming govt school with a large ground. the backdrop of the school is abutted by the magnanimous Tipu’s drop. The school lies at the border of the Sultanpet village , along the stretch of a road dotted by a prominent banyan tree grove with Naga Kattes, right opposite exists a defunct Kalyani structure believed to be built, by a ” MISTRY couple” whose idols still exists in the complex. Next village is NANDI where exists the famous temple of Bhoganadishwara temple
This school as a place of intervention presents a unique context where loci of layers of space/time/ history/geography/ mythology/culture locally play out in a pronounced way. It is participatory reading of such persistent reading of such persistent narratives much needed, which is lost in ‘amnesic’ educational system.
Discovering these through children and building the discourse further as a vibrant living tradition is the urgent need of the hour in the days of Smart cities and Sez plans being unleashed, leading to erasure of Locale.
Broad Objectives and Approach:
- The purpose would be to see “School as a local culture, and not just as an educational space. “
- Exploring how schools can become a reflection of local traditions by various tasks and activities.
- Acknowledging diversity within the school and also the surrounding context and allowing it to flourish and celebrated.
- exploring ways of making school as a platform for the “locals to celebrate and transform local”.
- Arts education as a way of engaging with the place and reconnecting to the living culture.
- Enable repositories of narrative about place, layers and culture through different relevant medium
- Artistic ways to discuss and to celebrate the coming together of the locals and strengthen the locals.
To enable this process the intervention is thought of in 2 parts that can be broadly seen as” inner” and “outer”
“Inner” will deal with the context of school space , house, community , neigbourhood capturing the sense of immediate environment. in terms of activities the tone will be more intimate, where individual expressions are encouraged in myriad ways.
“Outer” will tend towards an outward movement ( literally ) out of the immediate context to, to neighbouring villages , geography, landscape ,larger cultural relationships and frameworks inherent in the place. This exploration In will be geared towards building up a collective expression culminating in an event .
